San Francisco, California
Psychiatric Evaluation 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. What changes that's a real evaluation: a full clinical hour that ends in answers. shrinkMD delivers it to San Francisco by secure video, as soon as availability allows, from board certified clinicians.
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
Made to fit life in 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
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 San Francisco
Frequently asked questions
Good questions, clear answers
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.
How does the math work against my high deductible plan?
Flat published fees, HSA and FSA eligible, superbill for out of network reimbursement. Most patients find it favorable against a deductible that never gets met.
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.
What should I've ready for the appointment?
Current medications and doses, your pharmacy, any past diagnoses, and most importantly every psychiatric medication you've tried with dose, duration, and response. That history guides everything.
About San Francisco
San Francisco is home to about 800,000 residents. It's a major Bay Area metro and a center of technology and finance. Our patients here range across tech and professional workers, immigrants, and commuters.
Serving San Francisco
Care should reach every corner of San Francisco. As a coastal city on the tip of the San Francisco peninsula, San Francisco stretches from North Beach, downtown, and the Golden Gate Bridge, and shrinkMD brings board-certified telepsychiatry to all of it by secure video, with the same psychiatrist over time.
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.
Learn more
More from a trusted source: What is psychiatry? - American Psychiatric Association.
Nearby areas
Psychiatric Evaluation 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 psychiatric evaluation 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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