Child Psychiatrist Florida Telehealth
A child psychiatrist for Florida families, by video. Same-week intake, lifespan-trained PMHNP, and a real plan that involves the parent. Stimulant ADHD medications require one in-person visit at our Wesley Chapel office; everything else can be handled via HIPAA-secure telehealth.
Talk to a real child psychiatrist this week.
Tell us what is going on with your kid. A care coordinator will get you a real next-available video visit, usually within one business day.
Got it. We will be in touch.
A care coordinator will reach out within one business day. If you would rather not wait, call (813) 670-3005.
Who Florida telehealth child psychiatry actually works for
Statewide telehealth psychiatry for kids ages 5 to 17 covers a wider set of families than most parents realize. About 70% of pediatric psychiatry visits at our practice can be handled entirely over video: ongoing ADHD follow-ups on non-stimulant medications, anxiety, depression, mood stability check-ins, sleep, and adjustment concerns. The 30% that needs an in-person visit is concentrated in two scenarios: a first-time stimulant ADHD prescription (Florida controlled-substance rule requires one face-to-face evaluation at our Wesley Chapel office) and the rare safety evaluation where a clinician needs to be in the room.
Telehealth removes the biggest blocker most Florida families hit: the drive. A working parent in Jacksonville can attend the intake from the office during a 60-minute lunch block. A teen in Naples who has been refusing to leave the house for school will sometimes do a first video visit when they would not do anything else. That is not a small thing.
Why Florida families pick Ascend over the big-name telehealth chains
The Florida pediatric psychiatry market has gotten crowded with venture-backed telehealth platforms that bounce kids between rotating providers every visit. We do it differently. Your family is matched with Margot Krahn, PMHNP-BC, and you stay with her through evaluation, treatment planning, and follow-up. The same person who wrote the plan is the person reviewing how it's going eight weeks later. Continuity is the whole point.
The other thing we hear a lot from parents who switched to us: real 60-minute intakes. Not 15. Not "we'll talk about meds at the next visit." A first appointment is supposed to be where you sit down, walk through school history, sleep, prior evaluations, family context, and what is actually happening day-to-day before anyone writes a prescription. That's what you get.
How telehealth visits actually work for Florida families
Visits run in a HIPAA-secure video room. You get a calendar link, a 5-minute check-in form, and a green button. Most parents join from a laptop in a quiet room; a lot of teens prefer their phone in their bedroom. We ask the parent or guardian to be in the room (or on the call) for the intake of any child under 14, and to be available at the start of every adolescent visit so we can do the consent and update.
If your child needs a stimulant for ADHD, plan on one in-person visit to our Wesley Chapel office (27724 Cashford Circle, Suite 102) before the prescription is written. Florida law requires it for controlled substances. After that, follow-ups continue by video. Out-of-the-way families have done this with a single Saturday trip and never come back in person.
Margot Krahn, PMHNP-BC
Board-certified Florida-licensed psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Lifespan-trained, which means her formal training covers child, adolescent, adult, and geriatric psychiatric care. She sees patients in person at our Wesley Chapel office and across Florida via HIPAA-secure telehealth.
Margot believes the first visit is for listening. Sixty minutes, the medication list out on the table, the family in the room when it helps. The treatment plan comes from what she actually learns about you, not from what fits a template.
Read Margot's full bioFrequently Asked Questions
How does telehealth work if my child needs ADHD medication?
Non-stimulant ADHD medications can be started and managed entirely by telehealth. Stimulants (the most common ADHD prescriptions) require one in-person visit at our Wesley Chapel office before the first prescription, per Florida controlled-substance rules. After that initial visit, all follow-ups can be by video. Families who live more than two hours away usually schedule a single Saturday in-person visit and never need to come back.
My kid will not get on a video call. What do we do?
More common than people expect. We have parents schedule the first visit and join solo while the teen listens in another room. By visit two or three, most kids are willing to come on camera for at least part of the session. We do not push a reluctant child onto camera at the first visit. The goal is a working relationship, not perfect compliance.
Do you treat 5- and 6-year-olds by telehealth?
Yes, with the parent fully in the room. With younger children, we spend more of the visit talking with the parent than with the child, and we lean heavily on behavioral observation and parent report. We do not prescribe stimulants to children under 6 without a comprehensive in-person evaluation.
Is statewide telehealth covered by my insurance?
Yes. We are in-network with Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, AARP, ChampVA, and Oscar Health for Florida telehealth visits. We verify your specific benefits before the first appointment. Self-pay is $260 for the initial evaluation and $160 for follow-up visits.
Can my child see the same provider at every visit?
Yes. You stay with the same PMHNP through evaluation, treatment, and follow-up. That continuity matters a lot more for kids than for adults, and it is the single most common reason parents tell us they switched from larger telehealth platforms.
What if we live in the Panhandle or somewhere four hours from Wesley Chapel?
Telehealth was built for this. We work with families in Pensacola, Tallahassee, Gainesville, the Keys, and everywhere in between. The one moment where geography matters is the first stimulant prescription. If your child does not need a stimulant, you may never need to come in at all.
Help for your kid, this week.
Same-week intake, real 60-minute first visits, and the same provider every time. Call us or send the form at the top of the page; a care coordinator will get back to you within one business day.