Anxiety and Depression Treatment in California: One Provider for Both Medication and Therapy

Anxiety and depression are the two most common reasons Californians seek psychiatric care, and they frequently occur together. For a state with nearly forty million people and a documented shortage of psychiatric providers, the options that have grown to meet the demand mostly follow the same pattern: brief medication management, often with a different provider each visit, and therapy referred out to someone else. For patients who want more than a prescription managed in fifteen minutes, and who want the person managing their medication to also understand the therapeutic side of their care, that split model leaves a gap.

At Empathy Therapy, Dr. Mark Chofla provides both. One board-certified psychiatrist manages the medication and does the therapeutic work, for California patients across the state via telehealth.

Empathy Therapy is a telehealth psychiatry and psychotherapy practice built around empathic therapy, where genuine connection, careful listening, and integrated care are the foundation of every patient relationship. Dr. Mark Chofla, DO, is a board-certified psychiatrist who completed his undergraduate education at the University of California, Davis, 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). He has also served as a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, Davis Medical Center and School of Medicine. Dr. Chofla provides psychiatric medication management and formal psychotherapy for adults, adolescents, and children, and executive life coaching for adults, across California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Alaska, New York, and Florida via telehealth. New patient intakes are 75 minutes. Follow-up appointments are 45 minutes. New patients are typically seen within days, not weeks.

Why Anxiety and Depression Are Often Treated Together

Anxiety and depression are distinct conditions, but they overlap often enough that treating one without assessing for the other is an incomplete approach. Many people who come in for depression also carry a layer of anxiety that has been present so long it feels like part of their personality. Many who come in for anxiety have a depressive component underneath it that becomes visible once the anxiety is addressed.

The two conditions also amplify each other. Anxiety disrupts sleep and keeps the nervous system activated, which feeds depression. Depression drains the energy and motivation a person needs to manage anxiety. Treated as a combined picture rather than two separate problems, the interaction between them becomes something a provider can actually work with.

Getting that combined picture right requires time and clinical judgment. The 75-minute intake at Empathy Therapy is built to assess both conditions, how they interact in a specific person, what came first, what has already been tried, and where treatment should begin, before any recommendation is made.

One patient described what that kind of thorough evaluation produced on WebMD:

"He was kind, professional, and really listened. Even online, I felt supported and understood. He explained things clearly and made treatment easy to follow." — Patient on WebMD

The California Access Problem

California has one of the most significant psychiatric provider shortages in the country. Even in the major metro areas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, and the Bay Area, waitlists for psychiatric care can run weeks to months. In the Central Valley, the far north, and rural counties, access is worse, and a board-certified psychiatrist may not be available locally at all.

The shortage shapes the kind of care most people can get. To move patients through quickly, many practices shorten appointments and separate medication management from therapy, which is efficient but leaves patients coordinating their own care across multiple providers. Telehealth widens access geographically, but it does not automatically change the model. A patient in a rural county can now reach a provider by video, but if that provider offers only brief medication management, the patient still has to find a separate therapist.

Empathy Therapy addresses both problems at once. Telehealth removes the geographic barrier, so a patient anywhere in California receives the same care. The integrated model removes the coordination burden, because one provider handles both the medication and the therapy.

One patient described the value of care that reaches across distance on Vitals:

"Originally saw Dr. Chofla when he was in Sacramento. I then saw him by video. Within minutes you forget there is technology and miles in between you. Dr. Chofla can do this, and for this, I am grateful." — Patient on Vitals

What Integrated Care Means for Anxiety and Depression

When one provider handles both the medication and the therapy for a patient with anxiety and depression, the two sides of treatment inform each other in ways that split care cannot match.

Medication decisions are made with full knowledge of what is happening therapeutically. Some medications that help depression can increase anxiety early in treatment, and a provider who is also doing the therapy sees that develop in real time and can respond. The therapeutic work accounts for what the medication is doing to mood, sleep, and energy, rather than proceeding without that information.

There is no coordination gap, because there is no second provider to coordinate with. The patient does not relay messages between a prescriber and a therapist, does not retell their history twice, and does not fall into the space between two people who each see only part of the picture.

This serves patients across the range of severity. Someone with a first episode of anxiety or depression benefits from a provider who has time to understand them and stays consistent. Someone whose anxiety and depression have been present for years, and who has tried treatment that did not fully work, benefits from a provider who can look at the whole history and find what was missed.

One patient described that integrated understanding on Healthgrades:

"I have had a hard time finding a psychiatrist. Dr. Chofla challenges me when it is needed, but it always feels respectful and grounded in a real understanding of what I am going through." — Patient on Healthgrades

Who Dr. Chofla Works With in California

Empathy Therapy serves adults, adolescents, and children across California via telehealth. Patients come from Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose, Oakland, Fresno, Long Beach, and communities throughout the state, including the Central Valley, the far north, and rural areas where in-person psychiatric care is limited.

While anxiety and depression are the most common presentations, Dr. Chofla treats the full range of psychiatric conditions, including ADHD, bipolar disorder, PTSD and trauma, insomnia, grief, burnout, and the mood difficulties that accompany major life transitions. Many patients arrive with more than one condition at once, which is where the depth of the 75-minute intake and the integrated model matter most.

One patient described the experience on Vitals:

"Dr. Chofla listens carefully and truly cares. His approach makes healing feel possible again." — Patient on Vitals

Private Pay, Superbills, and How Costs Work

Empathy Therapy is a private-pay, fee-for-service practice. Insurance is not accepted. For California patients who have experienced insurance-based psychiatric care with its brief appointments, rotating providers, and coverage rules that constrain treatment, the private-pay model removes those constraints. Appointments are as long as the clinical situation requires. The provider relationship stays consistent from the first appointment forward. Scheduling is structured to keep wait times short.

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 described the value of that model on Vitals:

"This is a place you go to get better. Dr. Chofla was so very helpful. He got me stable. He seems expensive and you get what you pay for here." — Patient on Vitals

Dr. Chofla provides telehealth psychiatry and psychotherapy for patients across California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Alaska, New York, and Florida.

The information in this article is intended for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This is a sensitive topic. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or call 911.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Dr. Chofla treat anxiety and depression together? Yes. Anxiety and depression frequently occur together, and the 75-minute intake is designed to assess both conditions and how they interact before any treatment recommendation is made. One provider manages both the medication and the therapy.

Can one provider handle both medication and therapy for anxiety and depression? Yes. At Empathy Therapy, Dr. Chofla provides both psychiatric medication management and formal psychotherapy, so treatment decisions across both conditions are made by the same clinician with the complete clinical picture.

Does Empathy Therapy serve patients across all of California? Yes. Because the practice is fully telehealth, patients anywhere in California can be seen, including the Central Valley, the far north, and rural areas where in-person psychiatric care is limited.

Does Dr. Chofla treat conditions other than anxiety and depression? Yes. Dr. Chofla treats the full range of psychiatric conditions, including ADHD, bipolar disorder, PTSD and trauma, insomnia, grief, burnout, and life transitions.

How long are appointments? New patient intakes are 75 minutes. Follow-up appointments are 45 minutes.

How quickly can I be seen? New patients are typically seen within days, not weeks.

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

Which states does Empathy Therapy serve? Empathy Therapy serves adults, adolescents, and children across California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Alaska, New York, and Florida via telehealth.

How do I get started? New patient appointments can be booked directly at www.empathytherapy.com. You can also review frequently asked questions at www.empathytherapy.com/faqs or call 888-832-9635 with any questions before booking.