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ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS · CA TELEHEALTH
SANTA CRUZ · CA / EST 2024

High-functioning.
And the friction is real.

Telehealth psychiatry for adults across California navigating ADHD, anxiety, OCD, and executive-function struggles — especially professionals in tech, entertainment, law, and medicine.

Book initial evaluation → Read the approach Confirmation in < 24 hrs
Modality Telehealth, statewide CA
Approach Conservative prescribing
Initial visit 60 min · structured
In-network Aetna · Cigna · UHC · Carelon
01 / What this often looks like PATIENT EXPERIENCE

You set up a careful plan on Sunday night and watch it dissolve by Tuesday. You answer emails at 11pm to compensate for the ones you didn't get to at 2pm. You miss small things repeatedly, and you've gotten very good at covering for it.

Externally, you're holding it together. Internally, you know the cost — the friction between what you're capable of and what you actually get done.

You're not lazy. You're not broken. You're navigating something the standard healthcare system was never built to catch.

02 / WHY FORCE 10
10FORCE 10 · STORM

The Beaufort scale measures wind, from calm to hurricane.

Force 10 — Storm — is the threshold where conditions converge into something unstoppable. That standard runs through everything: the diagnosis, the medication, the follow-up.

F10 Psychiatry exists for the careful, deliberate version of this work. Diagnosis done properly the first time. Medication used conservatively when it helps. A structured follow-up rhythm that treats your treatment as something that should move forward — not just continue.

03 / Areas of care 8 PRESENTATIONS
Primary focus 01
Adult ADHD primary focus · dedicated page →
Core conditions 03
Anxiety generalized · social · performance ·
OCD adult-onset · recurrence ·
Executive function adjacent support ·
Adjacent care 04
Sleep disruption co-occurring ·
Depression adjacent to ADHD or anxiety ·
Panic disorder adult presentations ·
Medication review second opinion · adjustment ·

I focus on adults navigating these presentations and adjacent concerns. If you're unsure whether F10 is the right fit, reach out — I'll tell you directly.

Where to look elsewhere

Some presentations need a different setting. F10 isn't the right fit if you're looking for:

Acute crisis support →988, or your nearest ER
Inpatient stabilization →Local ED · hospital intake
Primary substance use treatment →ASAM-aligned program
Complex trauma therapy →EMDR or somatic-trained therapist
Disability / forensic evaluations →Forensic psychiatrist
Children & adolescents →Pediatric psychiatry referral

Unsure? Send a message — I'll tell you directly.

04 / How it works 3 STEPS
01 · REACH OUT
Book through the secure portal.
No referral needed. Confirmation within 24 hours, directly from me — not a routing desk.
~ 2 min
02 · EVALUATION
Careful, structured first visit.
Sixty minutes covering history, symptoms, sleep, focus, mood, and what you want treatment to actually change. You will not be rushed.
60 min
03 · TREATMENT
A plan that moves forward.
Clear, individualized treatment. Medication used conservatively when it helps. Follow-up that adjusts based on actual progress.
ongoing
05 / Your first visit, in detail 60 MINUTES, START TO FINISH

The how-it-works is the shape. This is the texture.

BEFORE~ 24 hrs prior
Intake form arrives via the secure portal. You fill it out at your own pace — history, current symptoms, what's worked, what hasn't. The form is for preparation, not screening.
OPENING~ 5 min
Audio and video check. You'll see me, I'll see you. Settle in. If you've never done telehealth before, this is where the first awkwardness wears off.
THE CONVERSATION~ 45 min
We talk. About what's going on now, about what you've tried, about what you want treatment to actually change. You'll do most of the talking; I'll guide. No surprise questionnaires.
THE PLAN~ 10 min
In the last stretch, we agree on what to try, what to wait on, what to follow up on. If medication is part of it, we discuss the specific options, side effects, and trade-offs — not just the prescription.
AFTERbefore we hang up
Follow-up is on the calendar before the call ends. Usually two to three weeks out for medication starts, longer otherwise. Prescription, if appropriate, is sent during or just after the visit.
06 / Clinician JAMES DARDEN · PMHNP-BC
Training
Yale & Johns Hopkins
Certification
Dual board-certified PMHNP-BC
License
California, statewide telehealth
Status
Accepting new patients

Full background →

07 / Where my patients work REPRESENTATIVE EMPLOYERS

Patients at F10 are high-functioning adults across tech, entertainment, law, and medicine. Companies represented in the practice include:

Amazon
Disney
Salesforce
Workday

Patients also include independents, founders, and creatives across the California Central Coast and the Bay Area. Company names appear here as context, not endorsement; no individual patients are identified.

08 / Insurance & investment IN-NETWORK VIA ALMA

F10 Psychiatry is in-network with most major commercial plans through Alma — including Aetna, Cigna, Optum / UnitedHealthcare, and Carelon. Also accepting Oscar, Oxford, Meritain, Sutter Health Plan, UMR, Surest, AllSavers, and others. Send a message to confirm your specific plan.

Initial Evaluation
$425 60 min · self-pay rate
Follow-Up
$295 30 min · self-pay rate

Most patients with in-network coverage pay a copay or coinsurance per visit. For self-pay, rates are listed above. If you want to confirm coverage before booking, send a message — I'll give you a straight answer.

Start with a careful first visit.

Sixty minutes. Full attention. A clear plan to take into the rest of treatment. New patient evaluations are typically scheduled within one to two weeks.

Book initial evaluation →