Telehealth psychiatry in Tennessee

What telehealth psychiatry covers

• Psychiatric evaluation and diagnosis
• Medication management and follow-up
• Adult ADHD treatment

We treat depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD, OCD, postpartum depression, ADHD and schizophrenia.

Questions to ask any telepsychiatry service

Directories and national apps list many Tennessee prescribers. Before you book anywhere, ask these questions, including of us.

Psychiatric provider and medical director

Psychiatric care is provided by Tamieka Sholar-Conard, MSN, PMHNP-BC, a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, working with our medical director, Lucas Trautman, a board-certified psychiatrist. Meet the full team.

How it works

1. Book. Call 615-682-8150 or request an appointment online. We verify your insurance.
2. Evaluation. A full psychiatric evaluation by video (ask intake to confirm the visit length).
3. Plan. Findings, treatment options and a discussion of prescribing and pharmacy arrangements if medication is appropriate.
4. Follow-ups. Regular visits to track how you feel, side effects and dosing.

Considering IOP alongside psychiatric visits

If appointments alone aren’t enough, your provider can discuss an evaluation for our telehealth IOP within the same practice. Admission depends on your needs, program fit and availability.

Anywhere in Tennessee

Patients join from Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Murfreesboro, Franklin, Jackson, Johnson City, Cookeville and across the state. Confirm your physical location and any travel plans with intake before your visit.

Discuss prescribing before booking

Ask the provider about prescribing limitations before booking for a specific medicine. An evaluation does not guarantee any prescription.

What is telehealth psychiatry, and how does it work in Tennessee?

Telehealth psychiatry is psychiatric care, meaning evaluation, diagnosis and medication management, delivered over a live video connection instead of in an office. Federal health information describes telehealth as using communication technology such as videoconferencing to provide care from a distance.

At Great Care, the whole psychiatric service runs this way. You join from a private space anywhere in Tennessee, and the Nashville address is the practice’s administrative office, not a clinic you visit.

What is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP)?

A PMHNP is an advanced practice registered nurse with graduate training focused on mental health who can evaluate, diagnose and prescribe. Nurse practitioners are nurses with graduate-level education, and they can prescribe medicines.

The letters after a name tell you what was earned. Tamieka Sholar-Conard, MSN, PMHNP-BC holds an MSN (a master’s degree in nursing) and is a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, which is what PMHNP-BC stands for. She provides Great Care’s psychiatric evaluations and medication management, working with the medical director, Lucas Trautman, a board-certified psychiatrist.

Will you see a psychiatrist or a psychiatric nurse practitioner?

At Great Care, your evaluation and follow-ups are with a psychiatric nurse practitioner, Tamieka Sholar-Conard, MSN, PMHNP-BC, and Lucas Trautman, a psychiatrist, serves as medical director. Psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners and therapists all treat mental health concerns, but they train differently and usually do different parts of the work. The table below is a plain-language summary; licenses and scope are set by each profession and state.

Online psychiatrist vs in person: when is video a good fit?

An online visit holds the same conversation as an office visit; what it cannot include is a hands-on exam. Video psychiatry tends to fit adults who want an assessment or ongoing medication care, can join from a private place, and are not in immediate danger. Your provider makes the final call on whether video care meets your needs.

• Often a fit: adults 18+ in Tennessee, a working camera and connection, a wish to start or review medication, or questions about a diagnosis.
• Not a fit here: an emergency (call or text 988, or call 911), care for anyone under 18, a need for hospital, residential or partial hospitalization care.
• Ask first: if you mainly want weekly talk therapy, a specific medicine, or a service such as formal testing, raise it with intake before booking.

What happens from your first request to your first follow-up?

The path has five stages: request, confirmation, preparation, the evaluation and the first follow-up. Here is what each one involves.

1. Request. Call 615-682-8150 during office hours (Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM Central) or use the online request on the contact page. A request is not yet a booked visit.
2. Confirmation. Intake confirms the time, checks insurance or explains self-pay, and tells you how to join. Ask intake how long to set aside.
3. Preparation. Gather your medication list, past records if you have them and your insurance card, then test your device in the room you plan to use.
4. Evaluation. A video conversation about your symptoms, history and goals, ending with findings and a proposed plan. See psychiatric evaluation for the detail.
5. Follow-up. If you continue care, later visits review how the plan is working. See medication management.

How soon can you get a telehealth psychiatry appointment in Tennessee?

Great Care states: Psychiatry: within 5 days. IOP intake: within 24–48 hours of referral or first contact. Intake confirms the actual time with you after your request.

Many adults wait a long time for a first psychiatric appointment, especially outside the larger cities, so a short wait matters. Video care also removes the drive, which can make it easier to keep follow-ups. Availability describes appointment access only; it does not decide what treatment is recommended, and a start in the IOP follows its own evaluation and scheduling.

Are evening psychiatry appointments available?

Yes, later times exist for people who cannot step away during the workday. Evening psychiatry: intake through 7:00 PM; follow-ups through 7:30 PM Central.

Those times are on Nashville’s clock, so patients in Knoxville, Chattanooga or Johnson City, which keep Eastern time, see them an hour later. Ask intake which evening openings are free when you request a visit.

What does telehealth psychiatry cost without insurance?

Self-pay psychiatry at Great Care is $250 for the first visit and $150 for each follow-up. Those are published visit prices, so you can plan before booking.

If you are not using insurance, federal rules generally entitle you to a Good Faith Estimate of expected charges when you ask for one or schedule far enough ahead. The psychiatry insurance and cost guide explains how that works and what to ask.

Which insurance can you use for telehealth psychiatry?

Listed coverage options can be checked for psychiatric video visits here: Aetna, Cigna / Evernorth, Humana, UnitedHealthcare / Optum, BlueCross BlueShield, Medicare, Wellpoint (non-TennCare plans; verify with intake). State Medicaid coverage through TennCare cannot be used at this practice.

An insurer’s name on a list is a starting point, not proof of coverage. Each insurer sells many plans with different networks and mental health benefits, so intake checks your exact plan for a psychiatric video visit before you are seen. If your plan is not one Great Care works with, you can still choose self-pay at the published rates.

Can an online psychiatrist prescribe medication?

Yes. A licensed psychiatric nurse practitioner or psychiatrist can prescribe by telehealth when, after evaluating you, they judge a medicine appropriate. Prescribing is a clinical decision made for your situation, so no particular medicine is promised by booking.

The decision rests on your symptoms, your health, your other medicines and what you have tried before. You take part in it: you can share preferences and concerns, and you should hear why a medicine is or is not being suggested.

What can and cannot be prescribed by telehealth?

Most non-controlled psychiatric medicines can be prescribed after a video evaluation if the provider finds them suitable. Controlled medicines, a federal category that includes ADHD stimulants and benzodiazepines, carry extra Drug Enforcement Administration rules for telemedicine that are still being revised.

The short version: the provider decides, current law applies, and booking never secures a specific prescription. The medication management guide explains controlled medicines in more depth, and the ADHD assessment guide covers stimulants.

What do you need for a video psychiatry visit?

You need a device with a camera and microphone, a reliable internet connection and a private place to talk. A short checklist helps the visit start on time.

• Phone, tablet or computer, charged or plugged in
• The joining instructions intake sends you, kept somewhere easy to find
• A quiet room with a door, or a parked car, where others cannot overhear
• Headphones if other people are nearby
• Photo ID, insurance card and your medication list within reach
• A pen and paper for the plan and next steps

Join a little early, since the patient policies ask patients to arrive ahead of the start time to complete registration.

Do you need to be in Tennessee during the video visit?

Great Care provides telehealth psychiatry to patients located in Tennessee. If you will be traveling, at college out of state or otherwise away on the day of a visit, tell intake ahead of time and ask how it affects the appointment.

Patients join from Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Murfreesboro, Franklin, Jackson, Johnson City, Cookeville and smaller towns across the state. Because there is no clinic to drive to, rural and urban patients use the same process.

How do follow-ups and refills work after the first visit?

Follow-ups are scheduled visits where your provider reviews symptoms, side effects and progress, then decides whether to keep, adjust or stop a medicine. They are usually closer together when something new starts and further apart once things are steady.

Refills have a notice period listed on the patient policies page; request ahead so you do not run short. The medication management guide covers pharmacy setup, refill etiquette and what to track between visits.

How do psychiatry visits connect to Great Care’s IOP?

When visits every few weeks are not enough, your provider can raise an evaluation for the practice’s telehealth IOP, which is priced and scheduled separately.

How can you keep a video visit private?

You control the most important part of privacy: where you sit and who can hear. Choose a closed room or a parked car, use headphones, and avoid joining from a shared work computer.

Use only the joining instructions intake gives you and do not post appointment links. Keep detailed clinical information out of public contact forms and ordinary email; ask intake about the patient portal for messages and records instead.

Can a family member or support person join the visit?

Often yes, with your permission and your provider’s agreement. Mental health guidance suggests bringing a trusted friend or relative can help you remember details and take notes.

Tell intake ahead of time who may join. Expect your provider to want some time with you alone, because certain questions, including safety questions, are easier to answer privately.

Who is Great Care’s telehealth psychiatry for?

It is for adults ages 18 and older located in Tennessee who want psychiatric care by secure video. Psychiatric appointments are for adults ages 18 and older.

Concerns commonly brought to an evaluation include depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD, OCD, postpartum depression and adult ADHD. A diagnosis name alone does not decide fit; the evaluation does.

What should you do if you are in crisis?

Do not wait for an appointment: call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911 if there is immediate danger. The Lifeline is free, confidential and available around the clock, and you can also chat online at 988lifeline.org.

Appointment requests, voicemail and the website are not monitored as emergency services. Once you are safe, you can contact intake about ongoing care.

Choose the appointment that matches your goal

For a first visit, explain whether you want an assessment of new symptoms, a review of earlier treatment or help continuing psychiatric care. If you already have a prescriber, ask how records and medication history should be shared before changing practices. Bring your questions about follow-up access, refill requests and how to communicate between visits. A recurring intensive outpatient program has a different schedule and admission process from a psychiatric appointment; use the IOP guide if you are exploring several treatment sessions each week.