TalkiatryReviews of talkiatry.com

I had an initial consultation with a Talkiatry-assigned psychiatrist on July 24. She asked the purpose of the consultation. I told her that I had moved from New York to California and needed to find a psychiatrist licensed in California. She responded that she was not, in fact, licensed in California and could thus only take notes which would be referred to Talkiatry for reassignment to another psychiatrist. She asked me screening questions, as one would expect from support staff from a psychiatrist's office. At the end, she explained that she would submit the form and I would be contacted by Talkiatry regarding reassignment to a California-licensed psychiatrist. That did not happen. Instead, Talkiatry billed $800 for a 45-minute intake session: $400 for an 'telehealth intake office visit' and $400 for 'additional supportive therapy'. Insurance covered the maximum allowed, $473, which is itself an absurd sum for asking some intake questions. There was no 'supportive therapy' provided: this is sham billing. I was then billed for the $326.69 beyond the insurance coverage. Billing fraud, plain and simple. To make matters worse, the psychiatrist did not, in fact, see to it that I was reassigned to a California licensed provider: I had to call several weeks later and request that on my own. Upon calling to contest the bill, I was told that the bill would be reviewed by the 'accounts team'. No response received to date. I have filed a complaint with the New York State Department of Health against Talkiatry and the billing psychiatrist individually.

I started using Talkiatry in January of 2023. I read up on the doctors available for my state and ended up choosing one I felt would be a good fit for me. I made an appt with her and immediately felt heard, understood, accepted and believed. I am 44 yo old now (2024) and have been on Vyvanse since 2013 for binge eating disorder and ADHD. I switched insurance and my primary care wouldn’t prescribe it. I stopped taking it and it was immediately apparent how much it had been helping me in school and at work. I testing done at my college in 2020 to determine whether or not I had a learning disability and ADHD (California-ask about it at your school’s DPP office! It’s free in most states) after an 8 hour long, intensive testing process with a psychologist, it was determined that I had ADD and a math specific learning disability. I gave that documentation to my talkiatry doctor. She had no problem prescribing my Prozac, Vyvanse and sleeping meds (clonidine). I’ve never had an issue with anything and the customer service with Talkiatry is fantastic. My provider always takes the time to talk with me and is very supportive regarding my life events. It really is like a 30 minute therapy session with what now seems like a totally unbiased friend. I’m moving in December and she doesn’t have a lic to practice in CA so I have to find another psych. I’m hoping talkiatry continues to provide me with excellent care in my future home state.

Mental health is such a delicate and important part of our lives. Unfortunately many companies such as Talkiatry have jumped onto the money bandwagon to try to take advantage of people that need help. I was suddenly discharged due to them saying there are no providers in California ... yet when I go to the website I can see multiple providers. Previously I had an appointment and few days before provider cancelled mind you I had waited a month for this appointment. The two appointments I did have with a therapist ..I felt was unfruitful since I did not feel the therapist was professional nor able to show me any strategies. Don't waste time trying to get services with this company they are incompetent and unethical.

Would give 0 stars if I could. I have a specific medication I need filled and after calling Talkiatry to make sure they could do it with the service online they “checked” and said “yes.” I wait a month for my appointment and when it’s time some guy jumps on who says he’s tired and is having a hard time keeping his train of thought. He tells me he doesn’t prescribe the medication I need and I explained to him that I called to check and they said he could and this was a waste of a month when I could have been looking for another doctor. I asked if I could just switch to another medication and he said no because the one I’m one is too “addictive” and it needs to be tapered and blah blah blah. I told him I’m on and insanely low dose and is that still an issue? Of course it was. I asked what other medication could I take after getting off it and he said, “there aren’t any.” I told him that doesn’t make sense to me. With how much advancement in medication we have, how are there ZERO medications that can help me as equal to the one I’m one? Absolute joke and waste of time. No way these are the best of the real psychiatrists, I guess otherwise they wouldn’t be using this service to try to get patients.

For no reason should you seek help from them. At every turn, the process is designed to discourage new patients from seeking help. From a major failure of the booking platform preventing me from scheduling an appointment and asking me to fill out new patient paperwork three times to being ultimately shown care providers as options that cannot successfully treat me because of my age, the front end setup is a nightmare. Then, when I finally have my new patient appointment, the psychiatrist doesn't want to treat me because I'm too close to turning 25 and she only treats people 25 and under. So I walk away from an hour long call with no diagnosis, treatment options, or help of any kind for what's becoming crippling mental health issues. Only the vague promise of a referral. This becomes important later. So I do actually get reassigned to a new psychiatrist after about a week and have to wait 3 weeks to have an appointment. This appointment then gets rescheduled because they claim the provider is double booked. Which, whatever. It happens to the best of us. So it's now three weeks after my first failed appointment and a week before my next new patient appointment with the new provider and I get an email that my bill is ready. Talkiatry does take my insurance, so I expect a small bill but to pay one nonetheless. But imagine my surprise when I open the bill and it's $416 even after insurance! I looked at the explanation of charges and they billed me for "Additional supportive therapy - 90836 During your visit, in addition to medical services, your clinician uses psychotherapeutic techniques (like supportive psychotherapy, psychoeducation, or cognitive behavioral therapy) to help you explore your emotions, understand your mental health, and develop strategies for feeling better. " So, if you remember, I didn't get a diagnosis and I certainly did not receive any therapy or medication. So this charge is completely false and is $140 after insurance. So I immediately write Talkiatry's billing department a very polite email asking them what's going on and to please remove this false charge from my bill before my next appointment or I'll have to cancel it. I don't do business with entities that falsify documents or practice unethical billing. And I get the most condescending email back the next day. Here's what they said: "Thanks for getting in touch with our Billing Support Team. Apologies for the inconvenience this has caused you. Your initial visit is not for free and not a guarantee of treatment and/or prescription of medications, but rather an assessment that allows the provider to get a better understanding of your history and needs so that an appropriate treatment plan can be devised. Without this appointment, and the time spent asking you these questions, your provider would not be able to tailor your treatment plans to your needs. For a mental health visit, it’s normal to see more than one code. We are not charging you twice for the same visit. During your visit, your doctor will generally provide more than one type of care. One is for medical evaluation – usually that includes checking in on your medications. The other is for therapy, which goes beyond medication management. This could include talking about how a medication works, how to manage side effects, coping strategies, or making any kind of lifestyle change, such as sleep or diet. One of the things that sets our clinical approach apart is the focus on building a therapeutic relationship with patients. That’s covered in the second code as well. Hope this helps!" They blatantly did not understand or read my email and were rude and condescending. So I wrote back with even more clear language and reminded them that they have until the end of the week to resolve the issue or I'll cancel my appointment and get an attorney. So the long and short is that if you're suffering from poor mental health and want help, this is not the place for you. The process from start to finish is designed to break you and cause you the maximum amount of stress possible while not providing you any care and charging you for what you should have gotten. I know telehealth is convenient, but you'd be much better off going to a licensed psychiatrist in your area so there's at least some accountability.

Before my first appointment, I sent copies of my insurance card. I was informed that my insurance was accepted and I was "good to go ". My appointment was about 10 days later. I thought the appointment went well and I felt I was on the path to something good for me. Until 7-8 days later. It was then that I received an email stating they were no longer "in network" with my insurance and included a bill for almost $400. I set up with a payment plan that they offered. Since then it has been a literal HELL. I have an email stating my account is paid yet I continue to receive PAST DUE emails demanding money! I cannot get through to talk to an actual person in the billing department. This ordeal has made my issues considerably worse. The doctor was great. The concept is fantastic! In actuality, the process does NOT work until someone who knows billing can take care of those issues and customer service that can provide answers and real service. Edit: I have tried calling and emailing. It came to writing this review. Next, I'm considering contacting an attorney if they don't stop harassing me with letters and emails threatening to send my account to collection!! I have emails from them as receipts and one email that states my account is paid in full. 2nd edit: They did finally contact me and have adjusted my account. I'm sad that it took coming here for this result.

Stay far away from this company. Their billing is a complete fraud. Initially they will tell you that they accept your insurance only to come back a couple of weeks later and say they do not. They will also say that they have attempted to bill your insurance company when it reality they haven't had any contact with them. Since there are so many negative reviews here with similar complaints, we are considering consulting with an attorney to see if a class action suit is warranted.

They waited until after my first visit to tell me my insurance wouldn’t pay. Then sent me a $355 bill