# A Psychiatrist in the Gateway Cities, Close to Home

> Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for Downey, Norwalk, Compton, Whittier and all 27 Gateway Cities, at our Long Beach office or by video.

**Source:** https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatrist-gateway-cities/

**Provider:** Breakthrough Mental Health, 3646 Long Beach Blvd # 205, Long Beach, CA 90807 (telehealth across CA)

Southeast Los Angeles County, Long Beach included

Our office is in a Gateway city. Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for all 27, in person on Long Beach Boulevard or by video.

Office visits or video

[Book in the Gateway Cities](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/book/) · [Call (818) 286-3862](tel:+1-818-286-3862)

*(image: Three generations of a family laughing over a backyard lunch under string lights, a man at the table sharing a joke with his father while the children eat)*

-   27
    
    member cities in the Gateway Cities council, Long Beach among them
    
    [web.archive.org](https://web.archive.org/web/20261011180923/https://www.gatewaycog.org/about_us/boards_of_directors/index.php)
    
-   1,672,291
    
    people live in the 27 Gateway cities combined, in Census estimates
    
    [api.censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B01003&geo_ids=16000US0602896,16000US0603274,16000US0604870,16000US0604982,16000US0604996,16000US0612552,16000US0614974,16000US0615044,16000US0617498,16000US0619766,16000US0632506,16000US0636056,16000US0636490,16000US0639892,16000US0640032,16000US0643000,16000US0644574,16000US0646492,16000US0648816,16000US0652526,16000US0655618,16000US0656924,16000US0669154,16000US0671876,16000US0673080,16000US0682422,16000US0685292)
    
-   25 min
    
    by car from Artesia City Hall in a 7.40am Monday sample
    
    [google.com](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&origin=18747%20Clarkdale%20Ave%2C%20Artesia%2C%20CA%2090701&destination=3646%20Long%20Beach%20Blvd%2C%20Long%20Beach%2C%20CA%2090807&travelmode=driving)
    
-   22.7%
    
    of Gateway adults aged 19 to 64 rely on Medi-Cal alone
    
    [api.censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B27010&geo_ids=16000US0602896,16000US0603274,16000US0604870,16000US0604982,16000US0604996,16000US0612552,16000US0614974,16000US0615044,16000US0617498,16000US0619766,16000US0632506,16000US0636056,16000US0636490,16000US0639892,16000US0640032,16000US0643000,16000US0644574,16000US0646492,16000US0648816,16000US0652526,16000US0655618,16000US0656924,16000US0669154,16000US0671876,16000US0673080,16000US0682422,16000US0685292)
    

In short

## The Gateway Cities, seen from inside them

Yes. Our office on Long Beach Boulevard is inside the Gateway Cities, the 27 southeast Los Angeles County cities from Whittier to Avalon. We provide psychiatric evaluation, diagnosis and medication management, in person or by secure video. Most Gateway cities are a short drive away. Check your coverage first; we do not currently take Medi-Cal managed care.

**Our office:** 3646 Long Beach Blvd # 205, Long Beach, CA 90807

**Hours:** Mon–Fri · 8 AM–6 PM (Pacific)

**Phone:** [(818) 286-3862](tel:+1-818-286-3862)

Telehealth available across California, with new locations coming to Northern California.

[Get directions →](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=3646%20Long%20Beach%20Blvd%20%23%20205%2C%20Long%20Beach%2C%20CA%2090807)

Where

## Twenty-seven cities and the port

-   [Bell](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatrist-bell/)
-   [Bell Gardens](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatric-care-bell-gardens/)
-   [Bellflower](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatrist-bellflower/)
-   [Bixby Knolls](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatrist-bixby-knolls/)
-   [Cerritos](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatrist-cerritos/)
-   [Compton](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatrist-compton/)
-   [Downey](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatrist-downey/)
-   [Huntington Park](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatric-care-huntington-park/)
-   [La Mirada](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatrist-la-mirada/)
-   [Lakewood](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatrist-lakewood/)
-   [Lynwood](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatric-care-lynwood/)
-   [Maywood](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatric-care-maywood/)
-   [Montebello](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatrist-montebello/)
-   [Norwalk](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/mental-health-services-norwalk/)
-   [Paramount](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/mental-health-services-paramount/)
-   [Pico Rivera](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/mental-health-services-pico-rivera/)
-   [Santa Fe Springs](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/mental-health-services-santa-fe-springs/)
-   [Signal Hill](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatrist-signal-hill/)
-   [South Gate](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatric-care-south-gate/)
-   [Whittier](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/mental-health-services-whittier/)

-   Artesia and Hawaiian Gardens
    
    Two member cities we timed at about 25 and 23 minutes from our door.
    
-   Cudahy
    
    The member city we timed from up the 710, about 33 minutes away in the Monday sample.
    
-   Commerce and Vernon
    
    Commerce counts about 12,000 residents in Census estimates and Vernon just 331.
    
-   Industry
    
    A Gateway member with about two hundred residents, by the same Census estimates.
    
-   Avalon
    
    On Santa Catalina Island, where a video visit beats any ferry timetable.
    

-   The Gateway Cities Council of Governments' board page, as archived on 11 October 2026, names representatives for 27 member cities, including Long Beach, Avalon and the City of Industry, along with the Port of Long Beach.
    
    [web.archive.org](https://web.archive.org/web/20261011180923/https://www.gatewaycog.org/about_us/boards_of_directors/index.php) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   The council's office is at 16401 Paramount Boulevard in Paramount, according to its home page as archived on 10 October 2026.
    
    [web.archive.org](https://web.archive.org/web/20261010224917/https://www.gatewaycog.org/) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   The county Department of Mental Health's Service Area 7 names Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Lakewood, Norwalk, Signal Hill and Whittier among the communities it serves.
    
    [dmh.lacounty.gov](https://dmh.lacounty.gov/about/service-areas/service-area-7/) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   The same board page describes the City of Avalon as located on Santa Catalina Island.
    
    [web.archive.org](https://web.archive.org/web/20261011180923/https://www.gatewaycog.org/about_us/boards_of_directors/index.php) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   The county's Service Area 8 names both Long Beach and Santa Catalina Island among the places it serves.
    
    [dmh.lacounty.gov](https://dmh.lacounty.gov/about/service-areas/service-area-8/) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   Compton, Lynwood and Paramount fall in the county's Service Area 6 instead.
    
    [dmh.lacounty.gov](https://dmh.lacounty.gov/about/service-areas/service-area-6/) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   In the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 estimates, Vernon has 331 residents and Industry 210, while Commerce has 11,993.
    
    [api.censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B01003&geo_ids=16000US0682422,16000US0636490,16000US0614974) · checked 2026-10-26
    

*(image: A young woman in a terracotta apron smiling as she kneels between raised beds with a basket of tomatoes and peppers)*

Getting care

## Four drives from Gateway cities without a page

Drive times are Google's, sampled once at the hour each note names, in that hour's traffic. Peaks that were not sampled will run longer.

### Driving to the office

-   From Artesia City Hall at 18747 Clarkdale Ave, Google's recommended route ran 8.5 miles via Del Amo Blvd and took about 25 minutes at 7.40am Pacific on Monday 26 October 2026, in the morning peak. Late-morning and evening traffic were not sampled.
    
    [google.com](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&origin=18747%20Clarkdale%20Ave%2C%20Artesia%2C%20CA%2090701&destination=3646%20Long%20Beach%20Blvd%2C%20Long%20Beach%2C%20CA%2090807&travelmode=driving) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   From Hawaiian Gardens City Hall at 21815 Pioneer Blvd, Google's recommended route ran 7.2 miles via E Carson St and took about 23 minutes at 7.40am Pacific on Monday 26 October 2026, in the morning peak. Late-morning and evening traffic were not sampled.
    
    [google.com](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&origin=21815%20Pioneer%20Blvd%2C%20Hawaiian%20Gardens%2C%20CA%2090716&destination=3646%20Long%20Beach%20Blvd%2C%20Long%20Beach%2C%20CA%2090807&travelmode=driving) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   From Cudahy City Hall at 5220 Santa Ana St, Google's recommended route ran 11.3 miles via I-710 S and took about 33 minutes at 7.40am Pacific on Monday 26 October 2026, in the morning peak. Late-morning and evening traffic were not sampled.
    
    [google.com](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&origin=5220%20Santa%20Ana%20St%2C%20Cudahy%2C%20CA%2090201&destination=3646%20Long%20Beach%20Blvd%2C%20Long%20Beach%2C%20CA%2090807&travelmode=driving) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   From Commerce City Hall at 2535 Commerce Way, Google's recommended route ran 14.6 miles via I-710 S and took about 37 minutes at 7.40am Pacific on Monday 26 October 2026, in the morning peak. Late-morning and evening traffic were not sampled.
    
    [google.com](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&origin=2535%20Commerce%20Way%2C%20Commerce%2C%20CA%2090040&destination=3646%20Long%20Beach%20Blvd%2C%20Long%20Beach%2C%20CA%2090807&travelmode=driving) · checked 2026-10-26
    

### Seeing us by video

-   Across the 27 Gateway cities, 92.3 percent of households have broadband of some kind.
    
    [api.censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B28002&geo_ids=16000US0602896,16000US0603274,16000US0604870,16000US0604982,16000US0604996,16000US0612552,16000US0614974,16000US0615044,16000US0617498,16000US0619766,16000US0632506,16000US0636056,16000US0636490,16000US0639892,16000US0640032,16000US0643000,16000US0644574,16000US0646492,16000US0648816,16000US0652526,16000US0655618,16000US0656924,16000US0669154,16000US0671876,16000US0673080,16000US0682422,16000US0685292) · checked 2026-10-26
    

The care

## What the psychiatric visit looks like

This is a psychiatric practice. We diagnose, we manage medication, and we keep seeing you so the plan keeps fitting your life. We do not run therapy groups or weekly talk therapy.

-   ### [Psychiatry Services](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/treatments/psychiatry/)
    
    Comprehensive psychiatric care, including diagnosis, treatment planning, and ongoing management led by a board-certified provider.
    
-   ### [Medication Management](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/treatments/medication-management/)
    
    Careful selection, monitoring, and adjustment of psychiatric medications to maximize benefit and minimize side effects.
    
-   ### [Psychiatric Evaluation](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/treatments/psychiatric-evaluation/)
    
    A thorough first assessment to understand your history and symptoms and build an accurate diagnosis and plan.
    

### The first appointment

Plan on about an hour. We ask what brought you in, what has and has not helped before, your health and current medications, and what you would like to feel different. You leave with a working diagnosis where one is clear, a plan, and the next visit already on the calendar.

Follow-ups are shorter. They come every few weeks while a plan settles and spread out once it holds, and any medication change is made one step at a time so its effect stays readable.

### Office or video, same care

Come to the office, log on from home, or mix the two. The appointment length and the clinician are the same either way.

New patients see [Irine Achuamang](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/providers/irine-achuamang/), a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner. [Dr. Cho](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/providers/austina-cho/) provides collaborating physician oversight.

Paying for care

## Commercial plans and Medi-Cal across 27 cities

**We do not currently take Medi-Cal managed care.** If that is your coverage, we are a self-pay option rather than a covered visit, and it is better to know that now than at the front desk. Self-pay is $250 for a 60-minute initial psychiatric evaluation and $150 for a 30-minute follow-up visit, and there is a sliding scale. Please ask.

We are in network with 19 commercial carriers, including Aetna, Anthem, Beacon Health Options, Carelon, Cigna and others, and you can check your own plan below before you book. TRICARE and TriWest are on that list, so service members, veterans and military families are billed like anyone else here.

### Coverage across the Gateway Cities

-   Across the 27 Gateway cities, 50.5 percent of adults aged 19 to 64 have employer-based coverage only and 6.6 percent buy their own plan, 57.1 percent on commercial insurance.
    
    [api.censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B27010&geo_ids=16000US0602896,16000US0603274,16000US0604870,16000US0604982,16000US0604996,16000US0612552,16000US0614974,16000US0615044,16000US0617498,16000US0619766,16000US0632506,16000US0636056,16000US0636490,16000US0639892,16000US0640032,16000US0643000,16000US0644574,16000US0646492,16000US0648816,16000US0652526,16000US0655618,16000US0656924,16000US0669154,16000US0671876,16000US0673080,16000US0682422,16000US0685292) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   In the same group, 22.7 percent rely on Medi-Cal or another means-tested program alone and 13.4 percent have no health coverage.
    
    [api.censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B27010&geo_ids=16000US0602896,16000US0603274,16000US0604870,16000US0604982,16000US0604996,16000US0612552,16000US0614974,16000US0615044,16000US0617498,16000US0619766,16000US0632506,16000US0636056,16000US0636490,16000US0639892,16000US0640032,16000US0643000,16000US0644574,16000US0646492,16000US0648816,16000US0652526,16000US0655618,16000US0656924,16000US0669154,16000US0671876,16000US0673080,16000US0682422,16000US0685292) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   Across Artesia, Avalon, Commerce, Cudahy, Hawaiian Gardens, Industry and Vernon together, 45.3 percent of working-age adults carry commercial coverage and 31.7 percent rely on Medi-Cal alone.
    
    [api.censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B27010&geo_ids=16000US0602896,16000US0603274,16000US0614974,16000US0617498,16000US0632506,16000US0636490,16000US0682422) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   Among working-age adults, commercial coverage is 59.8 percent in the Census Downey-Norwalk county subdivision, 51.8 percent in the Compton subdivision and 39.8 percent in the South Gate-East Los Angeles subdivision.
    
    [api.censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B27010&geo_ids=06000US0603790730,06000US0603790560,06000US0603793155) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   Among working-age adults, 30.1 percent in Cudahy carry commercial coverage and 43.5 percent rely on Medi-Cal alone, against 60.6 percent commercial in Artesia.
    
    [api.censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B27010&geo_ids=16000US0617498,16000US0602896) · checked 2026-10-26
    

Accepted in-network

## In-network with your insurance

We're in-network with most major plans, so care stays affordable. Not sure about yours? Verify your coverage in about a minute, or we'll gladly check it for you.

No card to hand? Leave your name, phone number and email, tick “look it up for me”, and we'll do the checking. Self-pay & sliding-scale options are also available.

[or call (818) 286-3862](tel:+1-818-286-3862)

Plans we accept

**Plans accepted:** Aetna, Anthem, Beacon Health Options, Carelon, Cigna, Evernorth, GEHA, HMC HealthWorks, Horizon BCBS, Independence BCBS, Magellan Health, MultiPlan, Optum, Oscar Health, Oxford, TRICARE, TriWest, UMR, UnitedHealthcare

## Paying out of pocket?

Self-pay rates

Clear, upfront self-pay rates. No surprises, no fine print. You’ll know the cost before your first visit.

-   Initial psychiatric evaluation
    
    $250/ 1 hour
    
-   Follow-up visit
    
    $150/ 30 min
    

Sliding-scale options are available. Just ask.

[Book in the Gateway Cities](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/book/)

*(image: A man in a green work shirt smiling softly on his front steps with a mug of coffee while a neighbor waves from across the street)*

## We are a Gateway city practice

The Gateway Cities are the 27 cities of southeast Los Angeles County that share a council of governments, from Whittier and Montebello in the north to Long Beach on the coast. Long Beach is a member, so our office on Long Beach Boulevard sits inside the Gateway Cities rather than looking in from outside. The council even counts the Port of Long Beach and Avalon, out on Santa Catalina Island, among its members.

For most of the area that means the office is a real option, not a theory. The city pages linked from this one carry measured drives of their own. Here we measured four more Gateway cities: Artesia, Hawaiian Gardens, Cudahy and Commerce. At 7.40am on a Monday, in the morning peak, Hawaiian Gardens City Hall was about 23 minutes away along Carson Street and Artesia City Hall about 25 minutes by Del Amo Boulevard. The two cities up the 710, Cudahy and Commerce, took about 33 and 37 minutes.

## Seven cities without a page of their own

Seven Gateway cities have no page of their own here: Artesia, Avalon, Commerce, Cudahy, Hawaiian Gardens, Industry and Vernon. Taken together, fewer than half of their working-age adults carry commercial coverage and close to a third rely on Medi-Cal alone, though Artesia, at about six in ten, sits well above that. Across all 27 cities, commercial coverage is closer to three in five. The Census subdivisions tell the same story at a larger scale: about six in ten working-age adults carry commercial coverage in the Downey-Norwalk subdivision, about half in the Compton subdivision, and about four in ten in South Gate and East Los Angeles.

We say this because it changes what we can offer. We bill commercial plans and we offer self-pay with a sliding scale. We do not currently take Medi-Cal managed care. For a Medi-Cal member, the county’s handbook sets out how specialty mental health services come through the county mental health plan, and the county help line answers at any hour.

## Two of our measured cities, side by side

Cudahy and Artesia are two of those seven, each under 35 minutes from our door in the Monday sample, and their coverage differs sharply. In Cudahy fewer than a third of working-age adults carry commercial coverage, and more than four in ten rely on Medi-Cal alone. In Artesia about six in ten carry a commercial plan. Same council, same county, very different first calls.

## The county’s map is not the council’s map

The county Department of Mental Health draws its own lines. Most Gateway cities sit in its Service Area 7, but Compton, Lynwood and Paramount sit in Service Area 6, and Long Beach in Service Area 8. If you call the county help line, it helps to know which service area you live in.

## Avalon, the Gateway city across the water

Avalon is a Gateway member you cannot drive to. It sits on Santa Catalina Island, and the county places the island in the same mental health service area as Long Beach. For someone in Avalon, a follow-up on the mainland means a boat crossing each way. A video follow-up from home takes half an hour. If you live on the island, video is the way we would suggest starting, with the office there for the days you are already on the mainland.

## When the drive is not the problem

Even close by, some weeks the drive is too much: a double shift, no car that day, kids home sick. That is what the video option is for. The appointment is the same, and keeping it matters more than where you sit for it.

Public resources

## County services for the southeast cities

Listed because they are useful. We have no referral arrangement with any of them.

-   Los Angeles County's help line, (800) 854-7771, answers 24 hours a day for the Gateway cities and the rest of the county.
    
    [dmh.lacounty.gov](https://dmh.lacounty.gov/get-help-now/) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   The county Department of Mental Health's handbook page covers how Medi-Cal members get specialty mental health services through the county mental health plan.
    
    [dmh.lacounty.gov](https://dmh.lacounty.gov/our-services/patients-rights/handbooks/) · checked 2026-10-26
    
-   The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is free and confidential and answers calls, texts and chats at any hour.
    
    [988lifeline.org](https://988lifeline.org/) · checked 2026-10-26
    

## Gateway Cities questions

### Is your office in the Gateway Cities?

Yes. Long Beach is one of the 27 member cities of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, and our office is on Long Beach Boulevard. For much of the southeast county that makes us a short drive, not a trip.

### I live in Cudahy or Commerce. Do you see patients from there?

Yes. Both are Gateway cities, and we measured the drive from each. In our Monday 7.40am sample, Cudahy City Hall was about 33 minutes away down the 710 and Commerce City Hall about 37 minutes.

### Can someone on Catalina see you?

Yes, by video. Avalon is a Gateway city on Santa Catalina Island, and a video appointment from home is far simpler than a ferry crossing for a follow-up.

### Is the Port of Long Beach part of the Gateway Cities council?

Yes. The council lists the Port of Long Beach among its members, alongside the 27 cities.

### Do you see patients from Compton, Lynwood or Paramount?

Yes. The county places those three cities in Service Area 6 rather than Service Area 7, which matters only if you call the county. For us, every Gateway city gets the same care, in the office or by video.

### What happens after I request a time online?

A person from our office calls to confirm the appointment and answer any questions. Nothing is final until that call, so you can still change the time or switch to video.

Related

## Conditions and treatments worth knowing

-   [Depression & Related Disorders](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/conditions/depression/)
-   [Trauma-Related Disorders](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/conditions/trauma/)
-   [Schizophrenia](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/conditions/schizophrenia/)
-   [Psychiatry Services](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/treatments/psychiatry/)
-   [Medication Management](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/treatments/medication-management/)
-   [Los Angeles County →](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatrist-los-angeles-county/)
-   [Telepsychiatry in California →](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/telepsychiatry/)
-   [Psychiatrist in Long Beach →](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatrist-long-beach/)
-   [All areas we serve →](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/locations/)

## Your appointment, a few freeway exits away

Pick a time online and we will call to confirm it. Most Gateway visits can be in person, and video is there whenever the drive is not.

[Book in the Gateway Cities](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/book/) · [Call (818) 286-3862](tel:+1-818-286-3862)