FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Shorelines accepts Cigna, United Health Optum, Hometown Health, and Aetna. Our Billing Coordinator will work with you to help answer any questions you may have regarding your mental health care insurance benefits. We also accept private pay patients.

We treat a full range of psychiatric conditions including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and dysfunctional behaviors.

Our focus is on your unique individual needs and goals. An individualized treatment plan is developed, and the length of treatment and the precise methods vary based on your individual needs. We are committed to delivering care that is compassionate, empathetic and thorough. We create an environment that is non-judgmental, and we value our clients’ input in identifying and addressing their greatest concerns. We incorporate counseling into every visit by listening carefully to our clients.

Shorelines offers many types of therapies. We begin with a 60- or 90- minute evaluation to understand what type of therapy will be most effective. The type of therapy is just one component of the overall treatment plan.

Shorelines providers have extensive training in mental health medication prescription and management. We pride ourselves in guiding people through the process of figuring out what works for them. Medication can be one of the many treatment options available.

We might recommend medication if it is:

• Likely to help
• Likely to improve results of psychotherapy
• Cost effective

Your first session may feel like you are just getting a lot off your chest. You will share relevant information like your family history, major life events, discuss your goals and frequency of sessions going forward. Shorelines provides a 60- or 90- minute evaluation focused on your history to help us evaluate and identify how to help you feel your best.

If you have taken psychiatric medications in the past please take some time to write down your medication history. This should include:

• The medication and reason why you took/take it
• The dosage
• The effects
• Any side effects
• Length of time you took/take the medication
• If you stopped, why?

Online telehealth is effective as long as it is conducted by an accredited professional in mental health and the appropriate techniques are applied in each case.

To obtain results equivalent to those obtained in the face-to-face modality it is necessary to carry out sessions in real time using a video conference system which allows fluent communication and establishment of the therapeutic rapport.

Telehealth has different characteristics compared with face-to-face sessions including inevitable advantages and disadvantages. The main advantages are the convenience of being able to access care from home, the greater accessibility independent of the location and mobility of the client, flexibility, lower cost, and greater privacy. The main disadvantage is that there may be a decrease in verbal and non-verbal communication which requires that the provider have specific skills handling the technological environment. Our providers have several years of experience with telehealth.

Our telehealth platform, known as Kareo, is extremely user-friendly. No specific technical knowledge is needed to conduct the sessions online. You will just need to properly configure the camera and microphone to be used on your device. Our administrative team and providers can also help you troubleshoot any technical issues and make necessary adjustments to ensure a good quality of communication.

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNP) and psychiatrists have similar job duties. They both assess, diagnose, and treat those struggling with mental health conditions and work closely with clients to prevent, identify, and manage symptoms resulting from psychiatric disorders. Both clinicians are experts in psychopharmacology (medications), and they each possess an in-depth knowledge of psychiatric medications and how to prescribe them effectively.

However, the paths that these professionals take to become licensed and certified varies. Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners typically attend a four-year nursing program, become a registered nurse, then choose to become a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner by completing a two to four year nurse practitioner program that focuses on mental health care. Psychiatrists are physicians who typically attend a four year medical school program and graduate to become either a medical doctor (MD) or a doctor of osteopathy (DO). They then choose to specialize in psychiatry by attending a two to four year residency program that focuses on mental health care.

Therapists and counselors require Master degrees and approval of their licensing boards to practice in the mental health field. They provide mental health diagnoses and develop a treatment plan. They are able to provide psychotherapy also known as therapy. Therapist and counselors cannot recommend or prescribe medications but they can refer clients for evaluation for medication or other treatments.

Currently we are able to get new clients started within 1 to 2 weeks. We have found many other practices have wait times of 3 to 4 months typically due to understaffing.