# Psychiatric Care Across Southern California, by Video > Video psychiatric visits from San Diego, the Coachella and Imperial valleys, Bakersfield and Santa Barbara. Evaluation and medication management. **Source:** https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/psychiatrist-southern-california-telehealth/ **Provider:** Breakthrough Mental Health, 3646 Long Beach Blvd # 205, Long Beach, CA 90807 (telehealth across CA) San Diego, the deserts, Kern and the Central Coast Video visits from San Diego, Bakersfield, Santa Barbara and the desert towns. Evaluation and medication management without the freeway. Video visits across California [Schedule a telehealth visit](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/book/) · [Call (818) 286-3862](tel:+1-818-286-3862) *(image: A woman with silver hair in a floral blouse smiling and gesturing as she talks on a video call on a tablet, a sunny desert garden of agave and palo verde through the window behind her)* - 20,068 sq mi of land in San Bernardino County, a drive a video visit leaves out [www2.census.gov](https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/2024_Gaz_counties_national.zip) - 94.9% of San Diego County households have a broadband connection [api.censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B28002&geo_ids=05000US06073) - 36.7% of Imperial County 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=05000US06025) In short ## Southern California care that comes to your screen Yes. From San Diego to Bakersfield, and across the deserts to El Centro, we see people by secure video for psychiatric evaluation and medication management. You meet the same clinician a Long Beach patient sees, for the same length of visit. The care stays the same; you simply join from home instead of our waiting room. **Our one 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. Getting care ## How a video appointment works under California law ### Seeing us by video - California's code calls the place a patient is located during a telehealth visit the originating site, and defines a synchronous interaction as a real-time interaction between a patient and a provider at a distant site. [leginfo.legislature.ca.gov](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=2290.5) · checked 2026-10-26 - Section 2290.5 also provides that a patient's agreement to telehealth does not preclude in-person care during a specified course of treatment. [leginfo.legislature.ca.gov](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=2290.5) · checked 2026-10-26 - Business and Professions Code section 2290.5 holds a licensed provider to the same professional standards on telehealth as in person. [leginfo.legislature.ca.gov](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=2290.5) · checked 2026-10-26 - Broadband of any type reaches 94.9 percent of households in San Diego County, 91.6 percent in Kern County and 90.1 percent in Imperial County. [api.censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B28002&geo_ids=05000US06073,05000US06029,05000US06025) · checked 2026-10-26 The care ## Evaluation first, then steady follow-up 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. ### Video is the whole visit A video appointment is a full psychiatric visit, not a lesser version. Evaluation, diagnosis and medication follow-up all happen on screen, from anywhere in California. 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, Medi-Cal and self-pay in the southern counties **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 Southern California - Among adults aged 19 to 64, 65.2 percent in San Diego County and 60.6 percent in Santa Barbara County carry commercial insurance, against 49.3 percent in Kern County and 43.9 percent in Imperial County. [api.censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B27010&geo_ids=05000US06073,05000US06083,05000US06029,05000US06025) · checked 2026-10-26 - In Imperial County 36.7 percent of working-age adults rely on Medi-Cal or another means-tested program alone; in Kern County the share is 29.6 percent. [api.censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B27010&geo_ids=05000US06025,05000US06029) · 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. [Schedule a telehealth visit](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/book/) *(image: A family of four playing a board game on a living room rug, the mother laughing with her head tipped back while the children grin)* ## The south of the state is wider than any commute Long Beach sits in a corner of a very large region. We did not time drives from Escondido, Indio or El Centro for this page, because for the south we work by video rather than by commute. San Bernardino County by itself covers more than twenty thousand square miles of land. Nobody should have to cross that to keep a medication appointment, and with a video visit nobody does. So for the southern counties outside Los Angeles and Orange, we work by screen. The clinician is the same one our Long Beach patients see. The calendar is the same calendar, and the visit covers the same ground. ## How the appointment runs Before anything else, check your plan with the coverage tool on this page. Then pick a time online and we will phone to confirm it. On the day, join from a phone, tablet or computer somewhere you can speak freely. California’s code calls a live telehealth exchange a synchronous, real-time interaction, and it calls the place you sit the originating site. That can be your living room in Chula Vista or a parked car in Bakersfield, as long as it is private. ## The follow-ups are where the work happens Medication management is a series of short, regular check-ins. Each one looks at how the current plan is working and whether anything should change. That rhythm suits video well: a half-hour follow-up from home is easy to protect, even in a busy week, and easier to keep than a half-day drive. We are a psychiatric practice and not a therapy group. If what you need most is weekly talk therapy, we will say so and point you toward it rather than stretch our role to fit. ## Coverage decides the first call In San Diego and Santa Barbara counties most working-age adults carry commercial insurance through a job or a plan they buy. In Kern and Imperial counties a much larger share rely on Medi-Cal alone, and that is the line where the first call changes. With a commercial plan, check it with the tool on this page and book with us if it is one we bill. With Medi-Cal, we do not currently take Medi-Cal managed care. San Bernardino County, for one, publishes member handbooks for its Mental Health Plan, and your county’s line below, or your Medi-Cal health plan, can tell you where covered care starts. Santa Barbara County puts the commercial side plainly on its own behavioral health page: if you have a private health plan and it is not a crisis, call your plan for a referral to a covered mental health provider. That is good advice anywhere in the south. Your plan’s member services line can confirm whether a video visit with us is covered before you spend an hour on it. ## Five counties, five different front doors The five counties listed below each run a behavioral health line, and they are not built the same way. San Diego’s Access and Crisis Line answers around the clock in several languages. Riverside’s CARES Line handles access and referrals at any hour. San Bernardino County keeps a 24-hour access line and, separately, mobile crisis teams in English and Spanish that you can reach by phone or by text. Santa Barbara’s Behavioral Wellness line covers crisis response and access to services together. Kern County lists a Mental Health Access Line, the same number as its 24-hour crisis hotline. If yours is one of them, save the number before you need it. We have not listed lines for Imperial or Ventura County; there, 988 and your health plan are safe first calls. ## When a county line is the better first call Video care is built for steady treatment over weeks and months, not for emergencies. If you are in crisis, call or text 988, or use the county line listed below for where you live. Where ## From the border to the Grapevine - San Diego and North County Coastal towns and inland suburbs alike, and a Long Beach office that sits well past the county line. - Coachella Valley Desert heat is one more good reason to keep the appointment inside your own front door. - Imperial Valley El Centro, Calexico and Brawley, at the far southeast corner of the state. - Bakersfield and Kern County Oil field and farm shifts, and a mountain pass between you and Los Angeles. - Santa Barbara and the Central Coast Students, retirees and everyone between, joining from a desk, a dorm or a kitchen table. - San Bernardino County covers 20,068.2 square miles of land, Kern County 8,134.7 and Imperial County 4,175.5. [www2.census.gov](https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/2024_Gaz_counties_national.zip) · checked 2026-10-26 - In the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 estimates, San Diego County has 3,288,774 residents, Kern County 915,075, Santa Barbara County 443,701 and Imperial County 180,202. [api.censusreporter.org](https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B01003&geo_ids=05000US06073,05000US06029,05000US06083,05000US06025) · checked 2026-10-26 *(image: A young man in a cream overshirt writing in a notebook at a sunny cafe table, a closed laptop and an iced coffee beside him)* ## Questions from San Diego, the deserts and Kern County ### Do you see patients in San Diego County? Yes, by video. The appointment is the same evaluation and follow-up care we give in Long Beach, with the same clinician, and you join it from wherever you are in the county. ### Is a video psychiatric visit held to a lower standard than an office visit? No. California holds a licensed provider to the same professional standards on telehealth as in person. The questions, the time and the care that goes into a plan do not shrink because you are on a screen. ### I live in the Imperial Valley and have Medi-Cal. Can you see me? We do not currently take Medi-Cal managed care, so the visit would be self-pay, with a sliding scale. We have not listed an Imperial County line on this page, so your Medi-Cal health plan is the place to ask where covered mental health care starts, and we are glad to talk through self-pay on the phone. ### Do I need a referral to book from San Diego or Bakersfield? Some health plans require one, especially HMO plans. Your plan's member services line can tell you whether yours does, and the coverage check on this page is a good first step. ### What do I need for a video appointment? A phone, tablet or computer with a camera and microphone, a connection that can hold a video call, and a private spot to sit. Keep a list of the medications you take now within reach. ### Can I switch between video and the office later? Yes. Under California law, agreeing to telehealth does not preclude in-person care later, so if you are ever near Long Beach on a weekday and would rather come in, say so when you book. Public resources ## County behavioral health lines in the south Listed because they are useful. We have no referral arrangement with any of them. - The San Diego Access and Crisis Line, 1-888-724-7240, offers free, confidential support in several languages, 24 hours a day. [sandiegocounty.gov](https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/hhsa/programs/ais/Community-Resources/Mental-Health.html) · checked 2026-10-26 - Riverside University Health System's CARES Line, (800) 499-3008, is a 24-hour access and referral line for behavioral health. [ruhealth.org](https://www.ruhealth.org/behavioral-health/older-adult-services) · checked 2026-10-26 - San Bernardino County's Department of Behavioral Health access line, (888) 743-1478, is answered around the clock. [wp.sbcounty.gov](https://wp.sbcounty.gov/dbh/osp/) · checked 2026-10-26 - San Bernardino County's mobile crisis teams work around the clock in English and Spanish, reached at (800) 398-0018 or by text at (909) 420-0560. [wp.sbcounty.gov](https://wp.sbcounty.gov/dbh/osp/) · checked 2026-10-26 - Santa Barbara County tells people with a private health plan to call that plan for a referral to a covered mental health provider when it is not a crisis. [countyofsb.org](https://www.countyofsb.org/bw-behavioral-wellness) · checked 2026-10-26 - Santa Barbara County Behavioral Wellness runs a 24-hour crisis and services access line at (888) 868-1649. [countyofsb.org](https://www.countyofsb.org/bw-behavioral-wellness) · checked 2026-10-26 - Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services lists (800) 991-5272 as its Mental Health Access Line. [kernbhrs.org](https://www.kernbhrs.org/contact/connect-to-kernbhrs) · checked 2026-10-26 - The same Kern page gives (800) 991-5272, or 988, as its 24-hour Crisis Hotline. [kernbhrs.org](https://www.kernbhrs.org/contact/connect-to-kernbhrs) · checked 2026-10-26 - San Bernardino County's Department of Behavioral Health posts member handbooks for its Mental Health Plan on its home page. [wp.sbcounty.gov](https://wp.sbcounty.gov/dbh/) · checked 2026-10-26 - Anywhere in the state, calling or texting 988 reaches the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, day or night. [988lifeline.org](https://988lifeline.org/) · checked 2026-10-26 Related ## Conditions we evaluate and treat - [ADHD](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/conditions/adhd/) - [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/conditions/ptsd/) - [Insomnia](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/conditions/insomnia/) - [Psychiatry Services](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/treatments/psychiatry/) - [Psychiatric Evaluation](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/treatments/psychiatric-evaluation/) - [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 first visit can start from home Choose a time that suits you and we will call to confirm it. Bring your questions and a list of the medications you take now. [Schedule a telehealth visit](https://breakthroughmentalhealth.health/book/) · [Call (818) 286-3862](tel:+1-818-286-3862)