San Francisco, California
Anxiety Treatment in San Francisco
San Francisco will optimize a deploy pipeline before lunch and spend two years not seeing a psychiatrist, because the in network lists are fiction, the academic centers are booked into next year, and admitting the system that needs debugging is your own feels like a failed code review. When worry runs most days for months and starts steering decisions, that's a treatable condition. shrinkMD brings evidence based anxiety treatment to San Francisco as soon as availability allows, by secure video.
Medically reviewed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA, board certified psychiatrist · Published June 7, 2026 · Last reviewed July 7, 2026 · Editorial policy
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Why shrinkMD
Care built around San Francisco
We are the low friction path: evaluation within days by video from the Mission, the Sunset, or a focus room, with measured follow up that treats your symptom scores like the dashboards you already trust.
No insurance billing means no diagnosis in any carrier database, relevant in a world of background checks and small networks. Travel weeks keep continuity across our ten states.
What's included
How we treat anxiety
First, precision: an evaluation that pins down which anxiety this is and what it's riding on, sleep debt, caffeine, thyroid, trauma, because precision up front is what makes treatment fast. Then a two track plan: medication from the SSRI and SNRI families when indicated, which calms the baseline within two to six weeks, and structured skills that retrain the alarm itself.
The skills aren't platitudes, they're clinical tools: breathing with an extended exhale that engages your braking system, graded exposure that shrinks avoidance, worry containment that gives rumination a schedule instead of a kingdom. Progress is measured with validated scales at every visit, so the plan adjusts to results. No benzodiazepines, ever, and an honest explanation of why.
Keep exploring
Care and next steps in San Francisco
Frequently asked questions
Good questions, clear answers
Can care continue through travel and relocation?
Across our ten states, yes. Many patients keep one clinician through job changes and moves.
Will an informed, research heavy patient annoy you?
The opposite. Bring the papers and the questions; you get mechanism level answers, real numbers, and a plan you understand.
What if it's anxiety and depression together?
Common, and treatable together. The evaluation maps both, and first line treatments overlap enough that one coherent plan usually covers the pair.
My anxiety is mostly physical symptoms. Is that normal?
Extremely. Racing heart, chest tightness, stomach trouble, and dizziness are anxiety's most common costumes, and we screen carefully in both directions before treating.
Why do you not prescribe Xanax or other benzodiazepines?
Because they relieve an hour and reinforce the disorder, with real dependence risk. The durable path, SSRIs or SNRIs plus skills, actually shrinks anxiety, and that's what we practice.
About San Francisco
San Francisco is a major Bay Area metro and a center of technology and finance. It's home to about 800,000 residents. The people we see here include tech and professional workers, immigrants, and commuters.
Serving San Francisco
San Francisco is a coastal city on the tip of the San Francisco peninsula, and reaching a psychiatrist here shouldn't take a long drive. shrinkMD sees adults across San Francisco by secure video, whether you're near Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach, and downtown. You keep the same clinician each visit, with no commute and no waiting room.
What it costs
Transparent, published pricing
Our self-pay prices are the same in every state where we practice. No insurance billing, and no surprise statement later.
| Service | Self-pay price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Initial evaluation | From $295 | A full 50 to 60 minute evaluation, diagnosis, and written plan. |
| Follow-up visits | $110 to $215 | Per visit, depending on length and complexity. Member rates are lower. |
| Membership (optional) | $49 per month | Priority scheduling, member rates, and the Unstuck and QuitScrolling apps. First month free. |
Your care team
Who you will see
Your care is delivered by shrinkMD clinicians, and you keep the same one over time. You meet by secure video with a clinician licensed in your state.
- Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA, founder and board certified psychiatrist (ABPN), dual board certified in psychiatry and in sports and performance psychiatry.
- Matthew George, PMHNP-BC, ANP-BC, dual board certified psychiatric nurse practitioner with more than two decades of clinical experience.
Related reading
More from a trusted source: Anxiety Disorders - National Institute of Mental Health.
Nearby areas
Anxiety Treatment in nearby California cities
Your next step in The Shrink Network
You are here: shrinkMD, the clinical care layer of The Shrink Network.
Each site in the network has one job. No matter where you enter, we help you find the next step that makes sense.
Get clinical care with shrinkMD
Want to understand more first?
Start anxiety treatment in San Francisco
Call 1-877-747-4656 now, appointments are available as soon as availability allows for San Francisco residents, by secure video from home.
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