Practice Policies & Fees
Welcome to my practice.
I look forward to working with you. Please take a few moments to look over these policies below.
Specialties and Areas of Expertise
My clinical area of interest and expertise is treating patients in psychoanalysis and weekly, often more frequently, for combined medication treatment and psychodynamic/psychoanalytic psychotherapy. I particularly enjoy getting to the root of my patient’s character-based difficulties, which often takes very frequent, sometimes daily, contact. A lot of activity goes on in the mind daily, let alone in a week, and in order to allow for real and lasting change, frequent meetings are usually necessary. Otherwise, I treat a broad range of conditions such as major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, panic disorder, alcohol and substance abuse problems, personality difficulties, relationship issues, symptoms related to medical disorders, and generalized mood swings/dysphoria.
Clinical Supervision
I offer supervisory expertise in psychoanalytic psychotherapy to psychotherapists and psychiatrists in the field, particularly around the analytic working through of intense dynamics that emerge in the course of an open-ended, ongoing treatment. I also offer guidance related to setting up a practice and ongoing practice management questions such as fees/money, billing, and professional development.
Private Consultation and Written Evaluations
I offer private psychiatric consultation services in person. Also, I provide psychiatric diagnostic evaluation services with written reports and/or letters for medical boards and other professional licensing organizations. Please contact the office to inquire about these services.
Appointments & scheduling
Office visits are by appointment only and scheduled directly through me by calling my main office number or via e-mail. In order to give you personalized service, I have limited my general office hours. All appointments run 45 minutes in length.
Please be absolutely certain that you are available before making an appointment. I reserve your appointment time specifically for you, and I never double book. If you are unable to give 48 hours notice of cancellation, I will bill you my full fee for the time.
Please also be aware that if you are using insurance I cannot bill them for missed appointments, and you would in that case be responsible for my full cash fee.
For all patients wishing to use insurance I require a $400 dollar deposit/retainer to be paid on the first visit as well as any applicable copay amounts. This deposit money will be refunded if insurance does pay fully; however, in the event that your insurance plan does not pay for whatever reason, this deposit money will be used to cover the cost of your treatment.
In addition I require a major credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover) number to be given on the first appointment day to be utilized in the event of residual balances on your account after termination of treatment.
Fee schedule
- Item
- Duration
- Fee
- Initial Phone Contact & Consultation
- Variable
- Free
- Initial New Patient Session & Chart Creation
- 45 minutes
- $400
- Psychiatric & Psychotherapeutic Follow Up Session
- 45 minutes
- $350
- Psychoanalysis treatment with multiple meetings per week
- 45 minutes
- Variable
- Medication Refills Outside of Session
- $100
- Check Insufficient Funds Fee
- $50
- Established Patient Phone Calls Greater Than 15 Minutes, with discretion
- $5/minute
Sliding scale fee slots
In order to see a wide variety of patients I do have a limited number of sliding scale fee slots for current and new patients. This scale is based on total yearly income and slides from my current pricing listed above to slightly lower fees depending on need. Please inquire directly to me if this sliding scale is of interest to you, and I can let you know if I have any sliding scale slots available.
Payments for services
Payment by cash or check made out to Inner Illuminations, PC, is due at the start of each session. I can also accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover credit cards at this time. There may be an additional convenience fee charge between 2-6% for payments made via credit card.
Phone calls
Most calls will be returned by the next business day at the latest. If you need to speak with me urgently or at a time that is outside of my office hours, I may be reached through my main office number at 415.819.5300. If you have a life-threatening emergency or cannot wait for a return call, you should call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
My e-mail address is eskuchen@innerilluminations.com. You may contact me via e-mail for scheduling and administrative issues. It may take up to 72 hours to receive a response. For all non-scheduling issues, call my voicemail at 415.819.5300. Please do NOT use e-mail to discuss other issues or ask medical questions, because I cannot ensure confidentiality when communicating via e-mail.
Medication refills
Refills are made for patients currently in active treatment and keeping regular appointments. I will provide you with prescriptions at your appointments. However, should a medication refill become necessary before your next scheduled appointment, please call and leave a message on my voicemail. Leave your name, date of birth, name of your medication, dosage, and how often you are taking the medication. Also leave me a pharmacy number and a number where you can be reached for questions. It may take me or my staff up to 24 hours to send the refill authorization to the pharmacy. There will be a charge as noted above for prescription refills given outside my office hours.
Vacation coverage
I will arrange for another psychiatrist to be available during my vacations. Giving your consent for treatment with me also includes consent for treatment with any psychiatrist that covers for me in my absence.
Confidentiality
All information between me and my patients is held strictly confidential. Given the intimate nature of psychotherapeutic work and the very personal nature of the information discussed, total confidentiality during your treatment is an absolute must. You must know that I hold this principle of total confidentiality in the highest regard, and I secure your confidentiality vehemently. I will not release your information to outside individuals or agencies without your written consent. The only exceptions to this rule are dictated by law (if there is a physical danger to yourself or others, if there is suspected child or elder abuse, if disclosure is mandated by a court of law, or if your treatment necessitated outside consultation or educational supervision).
Notice from California Medical Board
NOTICE TO PATIENTS OPEN PAYMENTS DATABASE
For informational purposes only, a link to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments web page is provided here. The federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires that detailed information about payment and other payments of value worth over ten dollars ($10) from manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, and biologics to physicians and teaching hospital be made available to the public. You may search this federal database for payments made to physicians and teaching hospitals by visiting this website: https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/
