Telehealth Psychiatry: Evening Appointments for Professionals Who Cannot Fit Mental Health Care Into a Workday

For many working professionals, the hardest part of getting psychiatric care is not finding a provider. It is finding time. Offices open at nine and close at five. Lunch breaks are short and rarely private. Taking a half-day to see a psychiatrist means telling someone at work, rearranging a full schedule, or sitting in a waiting room on a Thursday afternoon when three things are already behind.

The result is that a significant number of professionals either delay care for months or abandon the attempt entirely. Not because they do not want help, but because the logistics of getting it do not fit the actual shape of their lives.

Empathy Therapy is a fully telehealth psychiatry and psychotherapy practice that offers evening appointments for patients in New York, Florida, California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and Alaska. There is no commute, no waiting room, and no office politics around a mid-afternoon absence. An appointment happens after work, from wherever the patient happens to be.

What Telehealth Psychiatry Actually Looks Like

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, formal psychotherapy, and executive life coaching for adults, adolescents, and children 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. Evening appointments are available for patients in New York and Florida.

Why Most Psychiatric Practices Do Not Work for Busy Professionals

The standard outpatient psychiatry model was not designed around people with demanding work schedules. Most practices schedule during business hours. Follow-up appointments for medication management often run 15 to 20 minutes. The psychiatrist and any therapist the patient sees operate separately, which means the left hand frequently does not know what the right hand is doing.

For someone managing anxiety, depression, ADHD, or burnout while also managing a career, a team, or a business, that fragmentation is a real problem. Medication gets adjusted by someone who has not heard what came up in therapy last week. The therapist offers strategies but cannot touch the medication when a patient is not sleeping or cannot focus. Progress is slower than it needs to be.

Dr. Chofla's model addresses that directly. He provides both medication management and formal psychotherapy, which means one provider holds the full clinical picture. Medication decisions are informed by what is happening therapeutically. Therapeutic work is informed by what the medication is and is not doing. For patients who have experienced the frustration of coordinating between two separate providers, the difference is significant.

The Evening Appointment Advantage

For professionals in finance, law, medicine, technology, consulting, and other high-demand fields, evening appointments are often the only realistic option. There is no leaving the office early, no scheduling around a meeting that moved, and no visible gap in the workday that requires an explanation. An appointment at 6:00 or 7:00 PM fits after most workdays end and before the evening is gone, with full privacy and no commute.

One patient described what consistent, unhurried care meant over time: "Some need time, actual time with their psych doc, and that is what the doc provides. You get time with him, not just 15 minutes." — Healthgrades

Who Seeks Psychiatric Care through Empathy Therapy

Patients who come to Empathy Therapy are typically not in acute crisis. They are functioning. They are managing. They have built careers, maintained relationships, and kept most of the plates in the air. But something is not right, and it has been that way long enough that they are ready to address it properly.

Common presentations include anxiety that has become a baseline rather than a response to a specific situation, depression that is manageable but persistent, ADHD that worked around in school but is now affecting work performance or relationships, burnout that rest alone has not resolved, and life transitions, including divorce, career changes, grief, and relocation, that have destabilized something that felt stable.

For many patients, the 75-minute intake is the first time they have had an extended, uninterrupted conversation with a psychiatrist who is listening to the full picture rather than reviewing a symptom checklist with one eye on the clock.

Another patient reflected on what that quality of attention produced: "I have been more focused and successful in my family and work relationships than I could ever hoped for." — Healthgrades

Private Pay, Superbills, and How Costs Work

Empathy Therapy is a private-pay, fee-for-service practice. Insurance is not accepted. For many patients, this is a feature rather than a limitation. Private pay means no insurance authorization delays, no utilization reviews, no limits on session length, and no administrative friction between the patient and the care they need.

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.

Accessing Care Across Multiple States

Because the practice is fully telehealth, patients do not need to be in a specific city or office. Empathy Therapy serves adults, adolescents, and children across California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Alaska, New York, and Florida. Patients in areas where access to a psychiatrist who also provides therapy is limited have the same access to Dr. Chofla as patients in major metros. Evening appointments make that access practical for anyone whose workday does not leave room for a midday appointment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Empathy Therapy offer evening appointments? Yes. Evening appointments are available for patients in New York and Florida.

What does a new patient appointment look like? New patient intakes are 75 minutes. Dr. Chofla conducts a thorough evaluation covering mental health history, current symptoms, life context, and treatment goals. A treatment plan is developed from there.

Does Dr. Chofla provide therapy, or only medication management? Both. Dr. Chofla provides formal psychotherapy and psychiatric medication management. Patients receive whichever combination fits their situation, including therapy only or medication only when that is appropriate.

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? Contact Empathy Therapy at 888-832-9635 or visit www.empathytherapy.com.