Services
Comprehensive Initial Evaluations
Your journey to wellness starts with an understanding of your symptoms, thoughts, feelings and behavior patterns. We’ll perform an in-depth assessment that includes your history, lifestyle, current situation, and goals.
You’ll leave your first appointment with a plan of action that may include psychotherapy, medication, or both.
Initial evaluations range from 60-90 minutes, completed from the comfort of your own home or office over secure video conferencing.
Psychiatric Rating Scales
Comprehensive Diagnostic Assessment
Review of all past and current medications and diagnoses, medical and psychiatric
Psychoeducation on Potential Diagnoses
Discussion of Treatment Options that may include:
Prescription Medications
Laboratory Evaluation
Genetic Testing
Therapy/Coaching Referrals
Wellness Education
Complementary Medicine
Medication Management
Medications can help restore balance in the chemistry of the brain, easing your symptoms and giving you the freedom to live life to the fullest.
At Frische Psychiatry, we don’t offer one-size-fits-all solutions. We conduct a comprehensive evaluation of your life history, family history, and current situation. Then, we work collaboratively with you to determine whether medication will benefit you.
We are focused on finding the right medical treatment to bring you to wellness, not a one-size-fits-all approach that leaves you on multiple medications for life.
Follow up appointments for medication management are generally
25 minutes.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy, also known as “talk therapy” can provide you with tools for coping and improving your life. It can teach you how to solve problems, relate better to the people around you, and manage your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Whether or not your treatment plan also involves medication, we can play a key role in your journey to wellness.
Dr. Frische practices elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Psychodynamic Therapy, and Supportive Therapy.
Follow up appointments for psychotherapy are generally
55 minutes.
Telepsychiatry
Dr. Frische offers all services via telepsychiatry.
Telepsychiatry is available to residents of North Carolina only.
Not all patients are appropriate for this modality and determination of suitability is based on ongoing assessment and subject to change. Dr. Frische uses a HIPAA compliant video conferencing system that is free and easy to use. An internet connection and a private area to speak are the only requirements. Many commercial insurance plans now cover telepsychiatry appointments, phone discussions, and patient portal services and prospective patients are encouraged to inquire about these benefits if they plan to submit for reimbursement.
Telepsychiatry Tips
Tools to Get Started
Laptop, Computer, iPad, or smart phone
Fast and Stable Internet Connection
Headphones (optional)
Allow plenty of time to get setup by joining the session at least 5-10 minutes ahead of time, if possible. This will allow you to get settled and go through the connection steps in a relaxed manner rather than running late and being frazzled.
Creating Privacy
Ensure you are in a quiet, private space. It is important you feel comfortable speaking freely.
If you are participating from home, choose a comfortable room with a closed door.
Use a sound machine, radio, or other form of white noise outside of the room you will be using to reduce the chances of being overheard by anyone inside the house. You can also request others in the home use headphones to listen to music or watch movies during your session.
Using headphones can reduce others overhearing your conversation.
Creating a Comfortable Environment
Create a comfortable space to have your session.
Set up your device in whatever way that’s most comfortable for you.
Clear away clutter to reduce any distractions.
Sit or lie down, and have comfort items with you, similar to what your therapist may offer in the office. (i.e. pillows, fidget toys, weighted blanket, coloring books etc.)
Bring your favorite beverage such as coffee, water or tea.
Reduce or eliminate other distractions inside the room such as children, T.V., radio, etc. Feel free to have your pet with you unless you believe it would be too distracting.
Please Refrain From…
Driving
Consuming an illegal substance
Doing other tasks such as homework, housework, or walking around during your session. It will take away from your time and the effectiveness of the session.
If you don’t have a private space in the home, contact us so we can assist you in brainstorming alternative options.
Payment
Dr. Frische does not work as an empaneled provider to any insurance company and does not participate in Medicare. Therefore, appointments will be considered “out-of-network” for insurance reimbursement. Patients will be provided with a billing statement with diagnosis and procedure codes that they can submit to their insurance company.
Payment is due at the time of the appointment. Our goal is for you to feel that you are getting the best care possible without a third party trying to dictate your care. If a psychiatrist isn’t constrained by only providing services they can bill to an insurance company, they are often able to spend more time and individually create the perfect treatment plan for you. They can offer longer or more frequent sessions than insurance might cover. This may allow you to feel more comfortable, less rushed and able to have all of your questions and concerns addressed.
Dr. Frische provides medication management and basic supportive and psychoeducational psychotherapy for ALL patients, which allows for a more comprehensive understanding of your mental health needs before prescribing. She is also able to take the time to speak to your therapist or other members of your treatment team. These services require private pay, but they offer great convenience and highly coordinated care.
Benefits of an "out of network" provider:
Speciality Care.
While many psychiatrists are qualified to treat common challenges such as anxiety or depression, if you are interested in working with a specialist to address a specific challenge, you should consider looking out-of-network. Private pay psychiatrists often have additional training or specialization. Dr. Frische has extensive training in women's mood disorders, treatment resistant depression, and working with professionals and burnout. She is also a conservative prescriber meaning that she takes a wholistic view of the patient and makes all attempts to maximize one medication before adding others and aims for the lowest effective doses of medications and trying non-addictive and non-habit-forming medications first.
Highly Personalized Services.
If a psychiatrist isn’t constrained by only providing services they can bill to an insurance company, they are often able to spend more time and individually create the perfect treatment plan for you. They can offer longer or more frequent sessions than insurance might cover. This may allow you to feel more comfortable, less rushed and able to have all of your questions and concerns addressed. Dr. Frische makes herself readily available to her patients when needed.
Insurance Plans: high deductible plan or good out-of-network benefits
A deductible is the amount you have to pay upfront before your insurance coverage takes effect. If you have a $3,000 deductible and you haven’t had any other medical expenses yet in the year, you are responsible for paying up to $3,000 in fees out-of-pocket before your standard copay applies.
On the other hand, if you have out-of-network benefits, your insurance company may reimburse you as much as 80% of each session fee, depending on your plan and cost of the appointments. This means that in some situations, using your out-of-network benefits can actually be very comparable to your standard copay to see an in-network psychiatrist.
Ultimate Privacy.
If you want full discretion, or otherwise do not want your insurance company knowing you are seeing a psychiatrist, you might consider paying out-of-pocket for greater privacy. In order for your insurance to pay for therapy sessions, psychiatrists are required to provide the company information regarding your sessions, including a diagnostic code. If you don’t want your insurance company to have access to any information about your mental health, consider out-of-network options.
Dr. Frische documents only what she must for legal purposes, maintaining your complete privacy where possible. She uses a small electronic medical record system that is NOT automatically accessible by anyone other than the patient and provider.
Timely Care.
Most private practice psychiatric providers in the Triangle Area choose not to accept insurances, and those who do tend be extremely full. For many patients trying to use their insurance, it can be very difficult to find a psychiatrist who is in-network and accepting new patients. If you limit your search by insurance, you may have to spend months on a waitlist before seeing a doctor.
Private pay psychiatrists, like Dr. Frische, tend to have more availability and greater flexibility in scheduling new clients. In some cases, Dr. Frische will help a new patient get stabilized over three or four office visits. Later on, if cost becomes prohibitive, Dr. Frische can help transfer them to an in-network psychiatrist to continue their care once they are already doing well.
Relationships Matter.
At the end of the day, your relationship with your psychiatrist is one of the most important aspects of the healing process. If you only consider in-network options, you might eliminate a psychiatrist who would be a really good fit for you and maybe help you feel better faster.