Comprehensive psychiatric evaluation in Florida.

A psychiatric evaluation is the first, longest appointment in psychiatric care. It is the visit where a clinician builds a picture of what is happening, how long it has been happening, and what has already been tried — before anyone discusses treatment.

At Horizon it is a full 60 minutes. That length is deliberate. A shorter appointment can produce a prescription, but it cannot reliably distinguish between conditions that look similar on the surface, and getting that distinction wrong is the most common reason treatment fails.

"Comprehensive" is not a marketing word here. It means the assessment covers psychiatric symptoms, medical history, medication history, sleep, substance use, family history and current circumstances — rather than only the symptom that prompted the appointment.

The presenting difficulty. What brought you in, when it started, how it has changed, and what it stops you doing. Specifics are more useful than labels — "I have not slept more than four hours since March" tells a clinician more than "I have insomnia."

History. Whether this has happened before, what was diagnosed, what was prescribed, at what dose, and what happened. If you have been treated previously and it did not work, why it did not work matters.

Medical context. Current medications and supplements, physical health conditions, and anything recently changed. Thyroid problems, sleep apnoea, chronic pain and several common medications can all produce symptoms that resemble psychiatric conditions.

Structured measures. Standardised rating scales may be used for specific concerns — for ADHD, for anxiety, for mood. They score symptoms consistently rather than relying on impression alone, and they sit alongside the clinical conversation rather than replacing it.

What you want. What "better" would actually look like for you. This shapes the plan more than most people expect, and it is the question most often skipped in a fifteen-minute appointment.

No referral is required. Florida does not require one to see a psychiatric provider, and Horizon does not ask for one. You can book directly, whether paying privately or using insurance. Some insurance plans impose their own referral rules, so check your plan if you intend to use benefits.

Booking is online through the scheduling system, or by calling or texting 954-531-5108. The appointment happens by secure video, and you need to be physically located in Florida at the time of the visit.

Access is the harder part, and not only at this practice. A 2022 study of psychiatric outpatient availability found only 18.5% of psychiatrists were accepting new patients at all, with a median wait of 67 days for an in-person appointment against 43 days by telepsychiatry. HRSA designates 219 Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas in Florida, where roughly a quarter of assessed need is met.

Nothing is required, but a few things make the hour more useful.

Bring a list of current medications with doses, including anything over the counter, supplements, and anything taken occasionally. If you have been prescribed psychiatric medication before, a rough sense of what and when is valuable even if you cannot remember exact doses.

It also helps to have thought about when the difficulty started and what makes it better or worse. Some people jot notes beforehand. There is a fuller guide in the article on preparing for a first psychiatrist appointment.

You do not need records from another provider, a diagnosis, or paperwork.

By the end you should have an explanation of what the assessment found and a plan for what comes next. That plan might involve medication management, psychotherapy, both, or neither.

If medication is discussed, the conversation covers realistic benefits, likely side effects, interactions, and how it will be monitored. Some medications carry additional federal and state requirements around telehealth prescribing, and where those apply they are explained plainly.

Follow-up appointments are shorter and cost $100. They are more frequent when a medication has recently started or changed, and less frequent once things are stable.

If what you need is a level of care this practice does not provide — inpatient treatment, an intensive outpatient programme, or substance use treatment — you will be told at this appointment, not several months later.

The 60-minute initial evaluation is $200 self-pay. Follow-ups are $100. There is no separate charge for rating scales, registration, or sending a prescription to your pharmacy.

Oscar, Cigna and Aetna are accepted. Coverage depends on your specific plan rather than only the insurer, so checking your behavioural health benefits before booking is worthwhile. If you are paying privately, the self-pay page sets out the full fee table and when self-pay works out cheaper than using benefits.

Evaluations are available to anyone physically located in Florida at the time of the appointment. That includes Broward County — Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Hollywood and Plantation — and Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach and West Palm Beach. Patients in Miami-Dade, Naples, Sarasota, Orlando and Tampa are seen on the same basis.

Because the appointment is by secure video, the constraint is the state you are in during the visit rather than how far you live from an office.