01 · Mood
Persistent sadness or emptiness
Low mood, hopelessness, guilt, numbness, tearfulness, or feeling disconnected.
Based in San Diego · Telehealth across California
Online depression and anxiety evaluation and medication management across California.
Psychiatric care for adults with low mood, persistent worry, panic, irritability, sleep problems, loss of interest, or changes in daily functioning. Care for patients age 6+ is also available when appropriate.
Recommendations follow an individualized evaluation. This telehealth practice does not provide emergency services. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. Call or text 988 for crisis support.
Self-pay: $175 initial evaluation · $100 follow-up. Reduced fees may be available. View fees.
Insurance: Pacific Health Systems clinic · 760-800-4867. Call to confirm your exact plan. Speak with my medical assistant to request an insurance appointment with Brent Edwards.
100% telehealthAvailable throughout California
Ages 6+ welcomeAdults, adolescents & children
60-minute intakeTime for a careful initial assessment
Insurance & self-paySeparate secure booking pathways
When to consider an evaluation
Depression and anxiety affect more than mood.
Symptoms can affect concentration, sleep, appetite, energy, relationships, work, school, and physical comfort. An evaluation considers the overall pattern.
02 · Interest
Loss of motivation or enjoyment
Pulling away from activities, people, responsibilities, or routines that previously felt meaningful.
03 · Worry
Anxiety that is difficult to control
Persistent worry, fear, tension, overthinking, or expecting something to go wrong.
04 · Panic
Sudden surges of fear
Episodes of racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling, chest discomfort, or fear of losing control.
05 · Body & sleep
Physical and restorative changes
Fatigue, restlessness, muscle tension, headaches, sleep disruption, appetite changes, or feeling unrefreshed.
06 · Daily life
Meaningful functional impact
Symptoms affecting work, school, relationships, self-care, decisions, attendance, or routine tasks.
Anonymous self-screening
Check in with your depression or anxiety symptoms.
The PHQ-9 measures recent depressive symptoms, and the GAD-7 measures recent anxiety symptoms. Answer for the past two weeks. These self-screens are intended here for adults age 18+. Scores describe symptom burden; they do not establish a diagnosis or recommend a medication. Further diagnostic evaluation is necessary to understand symptoms, duration, daily functioning, and other possible causes.
These forms calculate results in your browser without asking for your name or sending answers to this practice. They do not store your answers in our system. No clinician monitors this page. You can clear your answers at any time.
PHQ-9 depression questionnaire — adults 18+
Thinking about the last two weeks, select how often you have been bothered by each concern.
GAD-7 anxiety questionnaire — adults 18+
Thinking about the last two weeks, select how often you have been bothered by each concern.
What these screens can—and cannot—tell you
Depression can affect interest, energy, sleep, appetite, concentration, and feelings of worth. Persistent anxiety may involve difficult-to-control worry, tension, irritability, or trouble settling. Generalized anxiety disorder involves a longer pattern of excessive worry; a two-week GAD-7 cannot establish that history.
Low scores do not rule out a disorder. High scores can also reflect other mental or physical conditions, medication effects, sleep problems, or major stress. A clinician considers your full history, including any periods of unusually elevated energy or reduced need for sleep. Depression screening alone cannot distinguish unipolar depression from bipolar depression.
Do not start, stop, or change medication based on a screening score. You may write down the date, score, and questions you want to discuss at an appointment.
Learn about bipolar symptoms and the MDQ screen · NIMH: generalized anxiety disorder
A complete psychiatric assessment
What the evaluation considers.
Low mood and anxiety can have psychiatric, medical, situational, sleep-related, or substance-related causes. The evaluation clarifies the pattern before treatment.
Important: Depression and anxiety screening questionnaires can support an evaluation, but they do not establish a diagnosis by themselves.
- Current symptoms, timing, severity, triggers, and effect on daily life
- Safety, including suicidal thoughts, self-harm history, and protective supports
- Past episodes, diagnoses, therapy, hospitalization, and medication response
- Screening for bipolar symptoms, trauma, OCD, ADHD, and related concerns
- Sleep, substance use, medical conditions, medications, and relevant laboratory history
- Family psychiatric history and major life or relationship stressors
- Your goals, preferences, concerns, and questions
Your first appointment
Care begins with context, not a rushed prescription.
The first visit reviews the symptom pattern, safety, medical factors, and reasonable next steps. Records, laboratory testing, medical follow-up, or another assessment may be needed.
Complete secure intake forms.
Share symptoms, treatment history, medications, substance use, medical history, and goals.
Meet by telehealth for 60 minutes.
Discuss what changed, how daily life is affected, and what you have tried.
Review impressions and treatment options.
Recommendations may include medication, therapy, practical strategies, medical follow-up, or another level of care.
Use follow-up to measure what matters.
Follow-up reviews symptoms, daily functioning, side effects, sleep, safety, medication use, and goals.
Individualized treatment
Depression and anxiety can overlap, but treatment is individualized.
Similar symptoms can have different causes. Treatment depends on diagnosis, severity, medical history, prior response, side effects, preferences, therapy needs, and current stressors.
Thoughtful medication decisions
When medication is appropriate, options are reviewed in plain language, including benefits, common risks, alternatives, and follow-up.
- No automatic prescribing
- Review of prior medication benefits and adverse effects
- Attention to sleep, sexual side effects, weight, blood pressure, and related concerns
- Adjustment based on response and tolerability
Care may include more than medication
Therapy, sleep, physical health, substance-use changes, daily structure, social support, and treatment of medical conditions may all matter.
- Coordination with therapists or primary-care clinicians, with permission
- Referral for ongoing therapy when useful
- Practical strategies discussed during follow-up
- Specialty or higher-level referral when needed
Adults and younger patients
Care for adults, children, and adolescents.
The practice primarily serves adults. Patients age 6+ may also be evaluated when telehealth care is appropriate and a parent or legal guardian participates.
Adults
Evaluation may consider work, caregiving, relationships, trauma, medical conditions, reproductive factors, sleep, and prior treatment response.
Children and adolescents
Care includes a parent or guardian and may use school information, pediatric records, rating scales, or coordination with other clinicians.
When telehealth is not enough
Telehealth is not a substitute for emergency, inpatient, or intensive treatment when safety or daily functioning requires more support.
Brent Edwards
PMHNP-BC
PMHNP-BC
Meet your provider
Collaborative psychiatric care, explained clearly.
Brent Edwards is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with experience in crisis psychiatry, military medicine, and outpatient care. He provides telehealth appointments throughout California.
Care emphasizes careful listening, plain-language education, shared decisions, and practical follow-up based on the full clinical picture.
Board-certified PMHNPTelehealth across CaliforniaAdults and age 6+Medication management
Frequently asked questions
Questions about online depression and anxiety care.
Can depression and anxiety occur at the same time?
Yes. They commonly overlap. An evaluation reviews the symptom pattern, timing, severity, effect on daily life, sleep, medical factors, substance use, and other possible explanations.
Is medication always required?
No. Treatment depends on the diagnosis, severity, prior care, medical history, preferences, and effect on daily life. Options may include medication, therapy, practical changes, medical follow-up, or a combination.
Do you provide psychotherapy?
Appointments focus on psychiatric evaluation and medication management. Supportive discussion, education, and practical strategies may be included, while ongoing therapy may be recommended separately.
How do you screen for bipolar disorder before treating depression?
The evaluation asks about unusually elevated or irritable mood, increased energy, less need for sleep, racing thoughts, impulsivity, medication reactions, family history, and past episodes that disrupted daily life.
Where are telehealth appointments available?
Appointments are available to patients who are physically located in California at the time of the visit.
Can I use insurance?
Insurance appointments are available through Pacific Health Systems at the clinic. Call 760-800-4867 to speak with my medical assistant, confirm your exact plan and benefits, and request an appointment with Brent Edwards. The clinic accepts most major plans, including Medicare and Medi-Cal; coverage depends on your specific plan.
Ready to begin?
Choose the booking path that fits you.
Insurance appointments are available through Pacific Health Systems at the clinic. Call 760-800-4867 to speak with my medical assistant, confirm your exact plan and benefits, and request an appointment with Brent Edwards. The clinic accepts most major plans, including Medicare and Medi-Cal; coverage depends on your specific plan.
Educational resources: Learn more from the National Institute of Mental Health depression overview and anxiety disorders overview. This page is educational and does not replace an individualized clinical evaluation.