Palo Alto, California
Psychiatric Evaluation in Palo Alto
Palo Alto concentrates more pressure per square mile than almost anywhere: founders against runway, researchers against tenure clocks, students against impossible baselines. Stanford's clinics overflow, private practices quote months and four figures, and the mid-Peninsula keeps performing instead of healing. A psychiatric evaluation is how the guessing ends: one structured hour with a board certified clinician that produces a real diagnosis and a real plan. shrinkMD brings that hour to Palo Alto by secure video, as clinician availability allows.
Medically reviewed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA, board certified psychiatrist · Published June 7, 2026 · Last reviewed June 8, 2026 · Editorial policy
Why shrinkMD
Made to fit life in Palo Alto
From Crescent Park to Sand Hill Road to Mountain View, visits happen by video from home or office at published flat fees, with discretion built into the structure rather than promised.
We bill no insurance, so no diagnosis exists in any database a board, investor, or diligence process could reach, and records stay between you and your clinician.
What's included
The evaluation, start to finish
Before the visit, you gather the short list that sharpens everything: current medications, your pharmacy, and any past psychiatric medications with dose, duration, and response. The appointment itself runs 45 to 60 minutes by secure video, covering your history, screening tools, medical contributors, and goals, in plain conversation rather than interrogation.
By the end you know three things: what this is, what we recommend, and what to expect in the first six weeks. Validated scores from this visit become the baseline every follow up is measured against, prescriptions go to your pharmacy the same day when indicated, and therapy is coordinated when it strengthens the plan. The next appointment is on the calendar before you close the laptop.
Keep exploring
Care and next steps in Palo Alto
Frequently asked questions
Good questions, clear answers
I'm a founder; can treatment stay invisible to investors?
Structurally yes: no insurance claims, no codes, no insurer records. Care happens behind your own door at published fees.
Can you coordinate with my existing therapist?
Yes, with your permission, and therapist plus psychiatrist is often the strongest configuration.
What should I have ready for the appointment?
Current medications and doses, your pharmacy, any past diagnoses, and most importantly every psychiatric medication you have tried with dose, duration, and response. That history guides everything.
What if I need more than telehealth can provide?
Then we tell you plainly and help arrange the right level of care. Knowing our limits is part of the clinical standard, not an exception to it.
Will I get a diagnosis at the first visit?
Usually yes, a working diagnosis and plan the same day. When something genuinely needs more information or records first, we say exactly what and why.
Start psychiatric evaluation in Palo Alto
Call 1-877-747-4656 now, appointments are available as soon as availability allows for Palo Alto residents, by secure video from home.
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