About Empathy Therapy: Telehealth Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Founded by Dr. Mark Chofla, DO

Empathy Therapy is an intentionally small telehealth psychiatry and psychotherapy practice built around empathic therapy, where genuine connection, careful listening, and integrated care are the foundation of every patient relationship. Founded in 2011 by Dr. Mark Chofla, DO, a board-certified psychiatrist with a vision for what mental health care could look like when built around the patient rather than the system, what started as a commitment to bringing high-quality psychiatric care to underserved communities across California has grown into a multi-state practice serving adults, adolescents, and children across California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Alaska, New York, and Florida.

Every appointment at Empathy Therapy is conducted via secure telehealth. There are no in-person visits, no waiting rooms, and no commutes. Patients connect from home, from work, or from anywhere private and comfortable, and receive the same depth of clinical attention that most people have never experienced in a standard psychiatric setting.

New patient intakes are 75 minutes. Follow-up appointments are 45 minutes. New patients are typically seen within days, not weeks. Evening appointments are available for patients in New York and Florida.

Who Founded Empathy Therapy and Why

Dr. Mark Chofla, DO, completed his undergraduate education at the University of California, Davis, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior. He went on to complete his medical training at Midwestern University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, and his psychiatry residency and internship at the University of Southern California (USC), specifically at the Los Angeles County and University of Southern California Medical Center. He has also served as a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, Davis Medical Center and School of Medicine.

With over 29 years of counseling experience and more than 15 years of telehealth experience, Dr. Chofla brings a depth of clinical background that is uncommon in the telehealth psychiatry space. Dr. Chofla's approach to empathic therapy developed over nearly three decades of clinical practice, shaped by a belief that psychiatric care works best when the relationship between patient and provider is built on genuine understanding rather than transactional efficiency. He founded Empathy Therapy because he saw what was missing in standard psychiatric care: time, continuity, and genuine integration between medication management and psychotherapy.

Most psychiatric practices, particularly in high-volume insurance-based settings, are structured around brief appointments and high patient turnover. Medication gets managed in 15-minute check-ins. Therapy, if it happens at all, gets referred out to a separate provider. The two never quite connect. Patients carry information between appointments and hope the pieces add up to something coherent.

Dr. Chofla built Empathy Therapy around a different model entirely.

What Makes Empathy Therapy Different

Empathy Therapy offers something genuinely rare in telehealth psychiatry: a board-certified psychiatrist who provides both medication management and formal psychotherapy through a single provider relationship. The empathic therapy model at Empathy Therapy means patients are never rushed, never handed off to a different provider, and never reduced to a symptom list.

For patients who need both medication management and psychotherapy, this means one clinician holds the complete clinical picture from the first appointment forward. Medication decisions are informed by what is happening therapeutically. Therapeutic work is informed by what the medication is doing. Nothing falls through the coordination gap that typically exists when prescribing and therapy are handled by separate providers who may not be in close communication.

This integrated model is available for patients who need it alongside medication-only care for patients who do not require or want psychotherapy. Dr. Chofla discusses what level of care fits each patient's situation during the 75-minute intake appointment, and recommendations are based on what a patient actually needs rather than a default protocol.

Other features that distinguish Empathy Therapy from standard telehealth psychiatric practices:

New patient intakes are 75 minutes, compared to the industry standard of 20 to 45 minutes. That additional time is not incidental. It is what makes accurate assessment possible and what prevents the generic treatment protocols that result from rushed evaluations.

Follow-up appointments are 45 minutes, significantly longer than the 15-minute medication checks that dominate insurance-based psychiatric care. Real monitoring, meaningful conversation, and thoughtful medication adjustment require time that most practices do not provide.

New patients are typically seen within days, not weeks. Scheduling at Empathy Therapy is structured deliberately to minimize wait times because access to care should not be its own obstacle.

All care is provided directly by Dr. Chofla. There are no rotating providers, no handoffs to other providers, and no inconsistency in who a patient sees from visit to visit. The same clinician who conducts the intake is the same clinician who manages ongoing care.

Who Empathy Therapy Serves

Empathy Therapy provides psychiatric care for adults, adolescents, and children across seven states. Dr. Chofla works with patients across a wide range of challenges, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder, trauma, grief, life transitions, burnout, relationship stress, and the compounding effects of sustained high-pressure professional environments.

Many patients come to Empathy Therapy after years of experiences in larger systems where care felt rushed, fragmented, or impersonal. Some have cycled through multiple providers without finding stability. Some are high-functioning professionals who have been managing symptoms through sheer effort and are ready for a different approach. Some are parents seeking care for a child or teenager who needs more than a brief evaluation and a prescription.

What they share is a need for care that is thorough, consistent, and built around their actual situation rather than a standardized protocol.

As one patient described their experience on Vitals:

"Dr. Chofla and his entire office epitomize excellence. Other single doctor practices never get back to you. It is infuriating. Call Dr. Chofla and they get back to you. Ask them a question and they explain. My child seems to be getting better. I for one feel more confidence than ever."

The States Empathy Therapy Serves

Empathy Therapy provides telehealth psychiatric care to patients located in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Alaska, New York, and Florida. Patients do not need to be located near a major city or metropolitan area. Because care is delivered entirely via telehealth, anyone in these states can access Empathy Therapy from wherever they are located.

Evening appointments are available for patients in New York and Florida, specifically designed for working professionals and families who cannot step away during standard business hours.

The Private Pay Model and What It Makes Possible

Empathy Therapy is a private-pay, fee-for-service practice. Insurance is not accepted. This is a deliberate choice, not a limitation.

Insurance-based psychiatric care is structured around reimbursement rates and authorization requirements that drive appointment length down and patient volume up. The result is a model where brief appointments, provider turnover, and fragmented care are not exceptions but structural features.

Empathy Therapy was built to operate outside that structure entirely.

Because Dr. Chofla is not constrained by insurance requirements, appointments can be as long as patients need, scheduling can be as frequent as clinically appropriate, and care can be structured around what each patient actually needs rather than what a plan will authorize.

Patients receive a detailed superbill after each appointment, which can be submitted to insurance for potential out-of-network reimbursement. Many patients with PPO plans recover a portion of their costs this way. Dr. Chofla's office can provide guidance on that process.

One patient reflected on the value of that model on Vitals:

"He seems expensive and you get what you pay for here. It all worked for me. Keep doing what you are doing, Dr."

Another noted on Healthgrades:

"I will say that his services are on the pricier side, but in my estimation, they are worth it for the level of care and attention he provides. I would highly recommend Dr. Chofla to anyone seeking a compassionate and knowledgeable psychiatrist."

Executive Life Coaching and Integrated Care

In addition to psychiatric medication management and formal psychotherapy, Dr. Chofla provides executive life coaching for professionals and creatives navigating high-pressure environments, career transitions, leadership challenges, and performance-related concerns. This service draws on his background as a physician executive and his extensive experience working with professionals across a range of industries.

For patients who need a combination of psychiatric care, psychotherapy, and coaching, Empathy Therapy

offers a rare integrated approach where all three are available through a single provider relationship.

A Note on Telehealth and the Quality of Care

Some patients come to Empathy Therapy with reservations about whether telehealth can deliver the same quality of care as in-person psychiatry. Dr. Chofla has been practicing telehealth psychiatry for more than 15 years, well before it became standard practice across the industry. The research consistently shows that telehealth psychiatric care produces outcomes comparable to in-person care for most patients and most conditions.

What matters in psychiatric care is not physical proximity but the quality of the clinical relationship, the depth of assessment, and the consistency of follow-up. All of those are present in the empathic therapy model at Empathy Therapy.

One patient described their experience of telehealth with Dr. Chofla on Vitals:

"I will start by sharing that logging onto a doctor has long not been something I am interested in doing. Within minutes you certainly do forget that there is technology and miles in between you. Dr. Chofla can do this, and for this, I am grateful."

Getting Started

New patient appointments are available now across all seven states. The process begins with a 75-minute intake appointment conducted via secure telehealth. No referral is required.

To schedule or learn more, visit www.empathytherapy.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Empathy Therapy? Empathy Therapy is a telehealth psychiatry and psychotherapy practice founded in 2011 by Dr. Mark Chofla, DO, built around the principles of empathic therapy, combining psychiatric expertise with genuine human connection across all seven states. It provides psychiatric evaluation, medication management, and formal psychotherapy to adults, adolescents, and children across California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Alaska, New York, and Florida.

Who founded Empathy Therapy? Empathy Therapy was founded by Dr. Mark Chofla, DO, a board-certified psychiatrist who completed his training at the University of California, Davis, Midwestern University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the University of Southern California (USC). He has served as a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, Davis Medical Center and School of Medicine.

What makes Empathy Therapy different from other telehealth psychiatry practices? Empathy Therapy offers 75-minute intake appointments and 45-minute follow-ups, both significantly longer than the industry standard. Dr. Chofla provides both medication management and formal psychotherapy through a single provider relationship. New patients are typically seen within days. All care is provided directly by Dr. Chofla with no rotating providers. The empathic therapy model means patients are never rushed, never handed off, and never reduced to a symptom list.

Does Empathy Therapy accept insurance? No. Empathy Therapy is a private-pay, fee-for-service practice. Patients receive a superbill after each appointment, which can be submitted to insurance for potential out-of-network reimbursement.

What conditions does Dr. Chofla treat? Dr. Chofla works with patients experiencing anxiety, depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder, trauma, grief, life transitions, burnout, and a wide range of other mental health challenges. He sees adults, adolescents, and children.

Which states does Empathy Therapy serve? California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Alaska, New York, and Florida. All care is delivered via telehealth.

Are evening appointments available? Evening appointments are available for patients in New York and Florida.

How long has Empathy Therapy been in practice? Empathy Therapy was founded in 2011. Dr. Chofla has over 29 years of counseling experience and more than 15 years of telehealth experience.

Does Dr. Chofla offer executive life coaching? Yes. Dr. Chofla provides executive life coaching for professionals and creatives alongside psychiatric care and psychotherapy, all through a single integrated provider relationship.

How do I get started? Visit www.empathytherapy.com to schedule a new patient intake appointment. No referral is required. New patients are typically seen within days.