Adults, 18 and over 60-minute diagnostic visit

Adult psychiatric evaluation in West Hartford, CT

Most bad experiences with psychiatric medication start the same way: a prescription written after a ten-minute conversation before the diagnosis was clear. Here, every new patient starts with a 60-minute in-person evaluation at our West Hartford office to work out what is actually going on, what you have already tried, and what is worth doing next.

Request an evaluation What the hour covers

Illustration of hands reviewing a notebook beside a closed medication bottle

Evaluation firstNothing is prescribed before a full diagnostic visit

Rating scales includedPHQ-9, GAD-7, and adult ADHD or mood screeners

Lab work when neededChecking medical factors that mimic mood or focus problems

One shared chartYour prescriber and therapist work from the same plan

What an evaluation is,
and what it is not

People come in with all kinds of histories. Some have never spoken to a mental health clinician in their life. Others arrive with a bag of bottles from three different prescribers and two diagnoses that contradict each other. The evaluation is built to handle both.

What it is

An hour to get the picture straight

You sit down in person with one of our psychiatric prescribers for about sixty minutes. We go through what is bothering you right now, when it started, and what your baseline looks like when things are going well. We reconstruct every psychiatric medication you have ever taken, use standard symptom rating scales to mark a starting line, and check whether a medical issue or sleep problem is driving the symptoms. You leave knowing what we think is happening and why.

What it is not

Neuropsychological testing, or a rubber stamp

We do not write prescriptions on a first phone call, and we do not hand out controlled substances on request. If we do not think medication is the right tool for what you are dealing with, we will tell you so plainly. At the same time, this is a clinical psychiatric evaluation for outpatient treatment. We do not perform multi-hour neuropsychological battery testing, academic disability evaluations, disability determination exams, or court and custody assessments.

What we cover
in the first hour

A good diagnosis rarely comes from a single question. It comes from lining up your current symptoms against your history and ruling out the things that look similar on the surface.

The timeline, not just this week

How you feel today matters, and how you got here matters just as much. We look at when the current stretch started, what else was happening in your life at the time, and whether you have had stretches like this before. A low mood that has run steadily for two years calls for a different plan than one that arrived three weeks after a job loss or alternates with four-day bursts of high energy and no sleep.

Why it mattersSeparates a single episode from a long-term pattern

Standard symptom rating scales

Memory is unreliable when you are exhausted or anxious. Alongside the interview, we use short, validated rating scales such as the PHQ-9 for depression, the GAD-7 for anxiety, and adult ADHD or mood screening instruments where they apply. A scale does not make a diagnosis on its own. What it does is give both of us a number on day one, so six weeks later we are not guessing whether a treatment moved the needle.

Why it mattersGives your treatment a measurable starting line

Every medication you have already tried

Many people tell us a medication "did not work" when what actually happened is that they took a starter dose for nine days, got a headache, and stopped. Or they took it for three years even though it only ever helped halfway. We go through your past prescriptions one by one: the dose you reached, how long you stayed on it, what side effects showed up, and whether anything improved. That list tells us what is worth revisiting and what to cross off for good.

Why it mattersTells true non-response apart from an unfinished trial

Medical factors and routine lab orders

The brain sits inside the rest of the body. An underactive thyroid looks a lot like depression. Severe iron or vitamin D deficiency can leave you flat and foggy. Sleep apnea can wreck daytime concentration and mimic adult ADHD. New anxiety in midlife can be tied to blood pressure medicine, too much caffeine, or perimenopause. Where it makes clinical sense, your prescriber orders routine blood work or coordinates with your primary care doctor before blaming everything on psychiatry.

Why it mattersCatches physical problems that masquerade as psychiatric ones

Sorting out overlapping diagnoses

Most psychiatric symptoms are not exclusive to one condition. If you cannot finish a report at work, the cause could be adult ADHD. It could also be depression, chronic worry that eats up your working memory, four hours of sleep a night, or burnout. Giving a stimulant to someone whose real problem is severe anxiety makes them feel worse, and giving an antidepressant alone to someone with bipolar disorder can destabilize their mood. Getting the primary diagnosis right protects you from the wrong prescription.

Why it mattersMatches the treatment to the actual cause

A plan written with you, not for you

The last part of the appointment is deciding what to do. Your prescriber explains their diagnostic impression in plain words and lays out the options. Sometimes that means starting or adjusting a prescription through medication management. Sometimes it means starting individual therapy first, or doing both in the same chart. If two or more antidepressants have already failed, it may mean discussing Spravato® (esketamine) for treatment-resistant depression.

Why it mattersYou leave knowing the target, the options, and the next step

Conditions we evaluate
at our West Hartford office

You do not need a diagnosis in hand to book. Half the reason this appointment exists is to figure out which of these applies when several overlap.

Major depressive disorder Treatment-resistant depression Generalized anxiety disorder Panic disorder Social anxiety Bipolar disorder Adult ADHD PTSD and trauma Obsessive-compulsive disorder Insomnia and sleep problems PMDD Grief and bereavement Work stress and burnout

From your first call
to the end of the visit

No mystery about what happens before or during the appointment.

Before you book

Checking benefits

You call or send an appointment request. The office checks your insurance, sees whether your plan requires a primary care referral, and tells you your expected cost in writing before putting you on the calendar.

Before you arrive

Gathering your list

Write down what you take now and any psychiatric medications you have tried in the past. If you have recent lab results from your primary care doctor, bring a copy along.

The appointment

Sixty minutes in person

You meet with your prescriber at 10 Princeton St, Ste N in West Hartford. No rush, no screen between you, and plenty of room to ask questions about anything you have read or been told before.

Leaving the office

Clear next steps

If a medication is started, the prescription goes to your pharmacy and a short follow-up is scheduled for two to four weeks out. If therapy or lab work is the next move, we set that up before you leave.

Cost and insurance

Psychiatric evaluations are billed as medical visits. Contact the office to check your plan before scheduling.

Insurance

Psychiatric diagnostic evaluations are covered under most commercial and Medicare plans, subject to your deductible, copay, and whether the prescriber is in network for your plan.

Written cost check

Before your appointment is confirmed, the office verifies your benefits and gives you your expected out-of-pocket cost in writing. If your plan needs a referral from primary care, we catch it then.

Self-pay

Available if your plan is out of network or if you prefer not to bill insurance. Ask the office for current self-pay evaluation rates before booking.

What to bring

A photo ID, your insurance card, and a list of all current medications and supplements.

Questions about
psychiatric evaluations

The questions people ask most often before booking their first visit.

Will I walk out of the first appointment with a prescription?

Sometimes, yes. Nothing is written before the evaluation is finished. If the diagnosis is straightforward and a medication is clearly indicated, your prescriber can start it at the end of the visit. If we need old records, a baseline EKG, or routine blood work first, we wait until those are back.

Do you do formal neuropsychological, academic, or court testing?

No. We conduct clinical psychiatric evaluations for outpatient treatment. That means a 60-minute interview with a prescriber, a review of your medical and medication history, and standard symptom scales like the PHQ-9, GAD-7, and adult ADHD or mood screeners. Multi-hour neuropsychological batteries, school accommodation testing, disability exams, and court or custody evaluations go to a neuropsychologist or forensic specialist.

What should I bring with me?

Bring a photo ID, your insurance card, and a list of what you take right now, including supplements and over-the-counter medicines. If you have taken psychiatric medications in the past, write down the names, the highest dose you reached, roughly how long you stayed on each one, and what made you stop.

Can you evaluate me for adult ADHD?

Yes. Evaluating ADHD in an adult takes more than a five-question checklist. We look at whether attention and follow-through problems were present earlier in life, use validated adult ADHD rating scales, and check for conditions that look a lot like ADHD in adulthood, including anxiety, depression, trauma, and poor sleep.

Do I need a referral to book an evaluation?

Not from us. You can request an evaluation directly with the office. Some insurance plans require a primary care referral before they will pay for an outpatient visit, and the front desk checks that for you before you are scheduled.

Can I do the evaluation online?

No. Every evaluation at this practice takes place in person at 10 Princeton St, Ste N in West Hartford. We do not offer telehealth.

General descriptions of adult psychiatric evaluation elements draw on the American Psychiatric Association Practice Guidelines for the Psychiatric Evaluation of Adults and the National Institute of Mental Health. This page is general information, not medical advice for your individual situation.

Where the evaluation leads

An evaluation is the starting line. Whatever your plan includes next happens in the same building.

Start with a 60-minute evaluation

Call the West Hartford office or send a request online. We check your benefits before you are scheduled.

Request an evaluation Call the office