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Welcome to Couch & Cardigan
Psychiatry And Therapy Services In Texas
Couch & Cardigan is a psychiatry practice that has been helping people manage depression, anxiety, obsessions and compulsions (OCD), depersonalization and derealization (DP/DR), and posttraumatic stress symptoms since 2015.
The founder of Couch & Cardigan is Dr. Sam Shapiro, a psychiatrist (M.D.) who is trained and board-certified in general psychiatry and forensic psychiatry.
Dr. Shapiro has gained extensive experience working with college students and military veterans in treating a variety of behavioral health conditions.
Dr. Shapiro believes that every person deserves a safe, effective, and collaborative approach that takes into account one’s uniqueness and personal goals. Dr. Shapiro provides evidence-based care and tries to incorporate humor and warmth into sessions.
Call or complete the online request form to request a free phone consultation. You can speak directly with Dr. Shapiro and learn if the Couch & Cardigan clinic can potentially meet your needs.
Why Couch & Cardigan?
Dr. Shapiro is a careful listener who wants to hear what ‘doing well’ means to you, and then collaborate with you on a plan to get there. He has the education, experience, and unassuming manner to make psychiatry treatment approachable. He believes that medicine is only one potential piece of treatment that can include psychotherapy, healthy lifestyle education, and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) approaches.
Dr. Shapiro understands that there are many informed professionals out there. There are many options for prescribers and multiple possibilities for a treatment plan, so it’s important that you feel your prescriber’s approach is aligned with your goals. Through careful listening and expertise, Dr. Shapiro offers an approach that is educated and collaborative.
Services
Medication Management
Medicine can help reduce or relieve the symptoms of many mood, anxiety, trauma/stress reactions, obsessions/compulsions, attention deficit, and other behavioral health conditions.
Dr. Shapiro believes in careful and and thoughtful medicine selection, and that treatment is based on appropriate medicine selections, and patient’s preference among these appropriate choices.
- Initial Evaluation (75 minutes): $400
- 40 minute follow-up $350
- 20 minute follow-up $200
Online Appointments
Telehealth appointments bring a convenience and privacy that many prefer to the office setting.
Couch & Cardigan offers telehealth appointments through a secure and private medical platform. Please call or submit an online request for a free consultation if you’d like to learn more about the options of online and in-person appointments.
- Initial Evaluation (75 minutes): $400
- 40 minute follow-up $350
- 20 minute follow-up $200
Forensic Consultations
Dr. Shapiro has completed a fellowship in forensic psychiatry, and has been certified in forensic psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He can bring his expertise as a consultant to forensic cases where expert psychiatric opinion is relevant. Please call or request a consultation to learn more.
- Hourly Rate: $500/hr
Request a CONSULTATION
Let's Talk
If you’re located in Austin, Texas or nearby, appointments can be scheduled in-person or online. Dr. Shapiro’s office is located in Northwest Central Austin. Telehealth appointments can be offered throughout Texas.
In Florida and New York, telehealth appointments are available, but no controlled medications will be prescribed across state lines. Examples of controlled medications include Adderall, Ritalin, Xanax, or Klonopin. Often there are effective non-controlled medication alternatives to these, for those who are looking to explore these options.
Office Hours: Friday 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Early mornings, weekends and evenings on request
Generally Asked Questions
The first appointment is a consultation where there is a detailed review of your concerns, with a further review of psychiatric history, social history, and family history. The first appointment is longer than the usual follow-up, lasting around 60-75 minutes in length. At the end of the appointment, there will be a discussion of what was reviewed. Dr. Shapiro will share his thoughts about treatment, and whether Couch & Cardigan can meet your needs.
Often it is, but not necessarily. It depends on the discussed treatment plan, and whether it’s clear that Couch & Cardigan can meet your treatment needs.
Though not usually the case, a consultation may need to extend to an additional appointment to clarify the issues and refine diagnostic considerations. Dr. Shapiro would inform you of this at the end of the first visit.
These appointments are scheduled after the first appointment, once a treatment plan has been agreed upon. They tend to be shorter in length (20-25 minutes). In these appointments, the treatment plan can be further reviewed and refined to best meet your needs.
Follow-up appointments tend to occur more frequently at the beginning of treatment. For example, frequency may be every 2-4 weeks in the first two or three months of treatment, and sometimes more frequently than this based on symptoms. Typically, appointments become less frequent over time.
At a minimum, follow-ups are recommended once every 3 months to ensure the best ongoing care and to review and potentially make helpful adjustments to the treatment plan.
Couch & Cardigan is currently out-of-network with insurances and therefore does not accept insurances, or directly bill insurances for services.
At this time, all appointment fees are collected prior to beginning that day’s appointment.
Patients can receive a document called a superbill, which is a receipt that includes information about the services provided and the associated costs. Patient can submit this superbill to their insurance for partial reimbursement of the services.
Patients will receive a good faith estimate (GFE), which is a list of expected charges for the year.
A psychiatrist is a doctor who completed either medical school (M.D. after the name) or a school of osteopathy (D.O. after the name), and then went on to specialize in the field of psychiatry through a program called a residency. Psychiatry residency programs are usually four years in length. A psychiatrist can then do additional specialty training in fields such as forensics (law), child and adolescent care, addiction, elder care, or consultation/liaison services, among other less common sub-specialties.
In treatment planning, psychiatrists can offer therapy, medication, health coaching, interventional treatments, integrated care/naturalistic treatments, or a combination thereof.
