Frequently Asked Questions

+ How soon can I be scheduled for a new patient appointment?

We are currently booking less than 1 week out for new patients.

+ What is Board Certification for psychiatry, and why is it important.

All of our providers at Centerway are Board Certified. Board certification is an important achievement, and it demonstrates expertise and knowledge of core competencies necessary to provide the best possible care. It is a rigorous process of testing, continuing education, and practice assessment. Being board certified means your physician voluntarily met additional standards, beyond the minimum competency of licensing and residency training. Dr. Erik Cantrell is board certified in Adult Psychiatry. You can go online at www.abms.org to see if your doctor is board certified.

+ How does a psychiatrist differ from a counselor or a psychologist?

Psychiatrists are mental health professionals who first trained to be a medical doctor, then completed at least 4 years of rigorous specialized training. In turn, they can prescribe medications, and provide counseling. We also work closely with psychologists, therapists, and counselors in order to ensure your care is optimized.

+ Do you provide talk therapy?

Our main focus is medication management and providing psychotherapy during the visit. We also work closely with psychologists, therapists, and counselors in the area who provide and focus on talk-based therapy in order to ensure your care is optimized.

+ Do you accept insurance?

We always encourage you to check with your specific insurance policy to make sure they are in-network with Centerway by calling the number on the back of your insurance card.

We are currently accepting the following insurances:

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield / Companion Benefit Alternatives
  • Medicare Part B
  • Evernorth (Cigna)
  • United Behavioral Health / Optum
  • Aetna

We do not accept Medicaid in any form, primary or secondary.

+ What are your rates?

Self-Pay New Evaluation Appointment: A $45 deposit is required at the time of scheduling your first appointment. The $45 deposit will be applied to cost of a new patient visit, and an additional $165 will be collected at the time of your first visit. ($45 + $165 = $210)

Self Pay Follow-up Appointments: $180

Insured (New Evaluation Appointment): A $45 deposit is required at the time of scheduling your first appointment. We also collect an additional $0 to $165 at the time of your first appointment (the exact amount depends on which insurance you have).

What happens to the $45 + 0 to $165 depends upon if you have met your deductible for the year?

  • If you have met your yearly deductible, or happen to be one of the few patients with no deductible, you will be promptly refunded any overpayment once insurance has finished processing, minus any co-pay amounts that are applied. In some cases we are able to make a determination that you have met you deductable already. Insurance processing often occurs within 2-3 weeks, though some insurances take 4-12 weeks to process.
  • If you have not met your yearly deductible, the amounts will be filed toward your insurance and applied to your deductible.

Insured Follow-up Appointments:
Once we have processed the insurance claim, we will be able to better estamate follow-up appoinmnent costs. If you have met your deductible, your paymnent is typically a small copay, or small co-percentage amount. If you have not met your insurance deductible, your responsibility will vary depending on your insurance plan.

+ What is an insurance deductible?

Simply put, a deductible is the amount of money that the insured person must pay before their insurance policy starts paying for covered expenses. Most Insurances have a deductible to meet, and the deductible typically start when enrolled in a new insurance, and resets every year. Typically this occurs on January 1st for 70% of insurance policies, however there are some insurance policies where the reset date may vary.

+ If I have in-network insurance, may I pay the self-pay rate instead?

We try to make the self pay rate affordable so we can help all those who need our care.

If you have an Insurance that we accept, we are legally required to process it through your insurance.

On rare occasions the self-pay rate is slightly less than than the reimbursement rate by insurance. If this occurs, we must use the rate provided by your insurance to comply with insurance contracts. Typically patients only mind this when they have not yet met their insurance deductible for the year, but rest assured, if this is the case any amount paid will go toward meeting your deductible.

+ Where do I park?

There is plenty of parking at our office site, and we are handicap accessible.

+ What should I bring to my first appointment?

Please print the new patient forms located on the 'Contact Page' of this website (if you have completed them electronically, no need to bring). We ask that you print these single sided so that we can easily view them in your chart. If you don't have a chance to complete this packet ahead of time, please come 20 minutes early in order to do so.

Please bring a valid form of ID, as well as your insurance card(s).

If you are already on medications, please bring a list with dosages and frequencies. If you are taking a stimulant medication for ADHD, or a benzodiazepine for anxiety, then it is helpful if you bring those pill bottles to your visit.

+ Is a medication always started on the first visit?

On the initial evaluation we will discuss our impression and options for treatment. Typically this does involve medication. There may be a few cases where medication may not be warranted or indicated on the first visit, or times where a need for a medication may require further investigation.

We are committed to answering any questions you might have, and it is okay to ask why a treatment plan or medication was chosen. Also, it is not uncommon for a patient to come in with a belief that a certain medication will be (or will not be) helpful. Overall, we are good at these conversations. Our philosophy is good communication resolves most issues.

+ Do we accept patients that identify as LGBTQ?

Centerway Behavioral Health recognizes that individuals that identify as part of the LGBTQ community are part of a culture that is diverse and constantly changing. As such, Centerway staff are trained on LGBTQ cultural competency and sensitivity. This includes training on gender-neutral vocabulary, various identity definitions, basic knowledge and terminology, risk statistics within the LGBTQ community, and updated and revised nondiscrimination policies. Employees are expected to respect the rights and be sensitive to the needs of this community.

+ What are your business hours?

Currently we are focused on seeing patients Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00am - 5:00pm.

+ What is your cancellation policy?

If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please do so before 3pm the previous business day to ensure that you do not accrue any late fees. These charges are done on a case by case basis (we understand things come up sometimes that are out of your control).

+ If I prefer Tele-health visits, does my first clinic appointment need to be in person?

There are certain controlled medications that require an in-person visit before our clinic can prescribe them (per DEA guidelines and state law). Generally it is best to have the first visit in person, because it allows for all treatment options to be considered. That said, many of your follow-up appointments can be Tele-health, but we will still need an occasional in-person visit. Please note, if your first visit is done by tele-health, we cannot prescribe any controlled medications until you are seen in person.

+ What platform do you use for Tele-health visits? What do I need to do to prepare for these?

We use Microsoft Teams as our HIPAA compliant video-conferencing system. We do ask that you download this platform to the device you plan on using for your visits (it is completely free!). But please, do not create an account on Microsoft Teams, we will always have you sign in as a guest to prevent glitches. Please note, we require a successful Microsoft Teams test call (will only take a few minutes) before getting scheduled for a Tele-health visit. This is to ensure everything is working properly and goes as seamlessly as possible for the day of your visit. Please see below for helpful tips on how to download Microsoft Teams.

Downloading Microsoft Teams App:

Microsoft Teams does not work on Safari browser.