Your provider will take time to get to know you by discussing your current concerns, medical and mental health history, lifestyle, and any past treatments or medications. This conversation helps us understand your unique experiences and develop an accurate diagnosis. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and share your goals for treatment. You might also be asked to fill out screening tools prior to an appointment which allows your provider to help assess the level at which you are struggling with certain mental health concerns. Together, we’ll begin creating a personalized care plan that may include therapy, medication, and/or other supportive strategies tailored to your needs. The goal of this first visit is to establish a foundation of trust, build a therapeutic alliance, and begin your journey toward healing and improved mental health.

A psychiatric nurse practitioner (PMHNP) and a psychiatrist both diagnose mental health conditions, prescribe medications, and provide treatment, but they differ in their training and approach. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (MD or DO) who has completed medical school and a residency in psychiatry. In contrast, a psychiatric nurse practitioner is an advanced practice registered nurse with graduate or doctorate-level training in mental health care. PMHNPs take a more holistic, patient-centered approach rooted in nursing, often combining therapy and medication management. While both professionals are highly qualified, psychiatrists tend to focus more on the medical model, whereas PMHNPs often emphasize wellness, lifestyle, and collaboration. In California, PMHNPs practice in collaboration with a psychiatrist.

We help clients with a wide range of mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, mood disorders such as bipolar and PMDD, postpartum depression, OCD, PTSD, ADHD, autism-related concerns, eating disorders, panic attacks, anger, trauma, personality disorders, substance abuse recovery, and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. 

Please ask for help. If you or your child is experiencing a psychiatric emergency, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached at 988 by call or text and is available 24/7. Mind Menders does not provide emergency psychiatric services.

Yes, at Mind Menders we encourage collaboration between the provider, parents, and the child or adolescent. Especially for younger clients, input from parents or caregivers is incredibly valuable. Providers often begin by speaking with you to gather important background information and understand your concerns. Parents frequently raise topics their child may initially be hesitant to discuss. With that being said, your child’s provider may ask you to step out for part of the session to speak with your child one-on-one. This allows the child to express themselves freely and build trust with the provider. Please note that psychiatric providers are legally bound by HIPAA, the federal law that protects patient privacy. This means that unless your child is at risk of harm to themselves or others, the provider may not be able to share everything your child discusses without their consent. We understand this can feel uncomfortable for parents, but our goal is always to keep your child safe while encouraging open, honest communication. Our providers will work with your child to help them share important information with you in a supportive way, when appropriate.

At Mind Menders, controlled substances—such as stimulants, benzodiazepines, and certain sleep or mood medications—are prescribed only when clinically appropriate and after a thorough evaluation. These medications require close monitoring, including regular follow-up appointments, prescription monitoring, and in some cases, drug screenings. We do not offer early refills, and lost or stolen prescriptions cannot be replaced. Misuse or noncompliance with the treatment plan may result in discontinuation of the medication or discharge from the clinic. Our goal is to ensure all prescriptions are used safely, responsibly, and as part of a comprehensive mental health treatment plan for our clients. The DEA works alongside state legislative boards to provide accurate and updated clinical guidelines for prescribing controlled substances — link provided for current clinical guidelines here.

A "Good Faith Estimate" (GFE) is a document that provides an estimate of the expected charges for healthcare services, particularly for individuals who are either uninsured or self-pay. A “GFE” helps patients understand the potential costs before receiving care and allows them to make informed decisions.

This estimate is not a bill, but rather a projection of costs based on available information at the time of scheduling or request.

You can find our GFE here:

Under Section 2799B-7 of the Public Health Service Act and its implementing regulations, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) is required to establish a patient-provider dispute resolution process where a Selected Dispute Resolution (SDR) entity can resolve a payment dispute between individuals who are not enrolled in a group health plan, or group or individual health insurance coverage, or a Federal health care program, or a Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program health benefits plan (uninsured individuals), or who are not seeking to file a claim with their group health plan, health insurance coverage, or FEHB health benefits plan (self-pay individuals), and health care provider, facility, or provider of air ambulance services by determining the amount such individual must pay to their health care provider, facility, or provider of air ambulance services. Under federal criteria, SDR entities will review initiation notices to determine an individual is eligible to dispute a bill.

Section 45 CFR 149.610(c), establishes requirements for the content that must be included in a good faith estimate that is issued to an uninsured (or self-pay) individual. Per 45 CFR 149.610(c)(1), all of the required elements must be included in the good faith estimate that the convening provider or convening facility issues to the uninsured (or self-pay) individual. As specified in 45 CFR 149.610(c)(1)(iii)(B), the good faith estimate information submitted by co- providers or co-facilities, as specified in 45 CFR 149.610(b)(2) and (c)(2) must also be included as part of the good faith estimate issued to the uninsured (or self-pay) individual. 

Facility Information: Kuhn Nursing Inc./DBA Mind Menders

Office Service Address: 3110 Camino del Rio South #220, San Diego, CA 92108

TIN: 99-4070811

Facility NPI: 1255160560

Service Codes/Description of Services/Expected charges by Providers:

Separate good faith estimates will be issued to an uninsured (or self-pay) individual upon scheduling of the listed items and services 

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners:

Kirsten Kuhn, MSN, PMHNP-BC

Paige Schaeper, MSN, PMHNP-BC 

90792- Psychiatric Diagnostic Evaluation with Medical Services (Initial evaluation with Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner 60 minutes). Estimated Charge $400 

99214-Evaluation and management of established client. Estimated Charge $200 

 Required Disclaimers:

Following an initial evaluation (90792, 90791, 0591T) for continued services, separate sessions may be recommended or required for continued follow up care/treatment (99214, 90837, 0592T) separate good faith estimates are required to be provided upon scheduling services

Estimates Subject to Change: The information provided in the good faith estimate are estimates and not the final overall total charges.

Right to initiate patient-provider dispute resolution process: In the case of any errors in billing or if you believe there has been an overcharge you have the right to initiate the patient-provider dispute resolution process if the actual billed charges from any provider or facility are $400 more than the expected charges from that provider or facility included in the good faith estimate.

Please contact our billing department with any questions/concerns about billing, we are happy to correct any inaccuracies or explain any charges. 

This Good Faith Estimate is not a contract: A good faith estimate is not a contract and does not require the uninsured (or self- pay) individual to obtain the items and services from any of the providers or facilities identified on the good faith estimate.

Privacy Policy (Effective Date: 06/23/2025)

The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires healthcare providers to inform patients about the privacy practices of insurance plans and healthcare providers. As such, healthcare providers are required to distribute written material informing the patients of their privacy rights regarding their personal health information. This notice must disclose how our organization may use/disclose an individual’s protected health information (PHI), what the patient’s rights are concerning their PHI, and how the patient can exercise their rights if they feel that their PHI has been violated (ie: process for complaints). 

Kuhn Nursing, Inc., DBA “Mind Menders” is a professional nursing corporation. It is the legal duty/obligation of Mind Menders to safeguard the protected health information of our patients.

How Mind Menders Utilizes Protected Health Information (PHI):

Use of Artificial Intelligence for Notetaking: We may offer the ability to utilize a third party vendor that provides HIPAA compliant artificial intelligence assistance during your appointment. This allows the provider to be fully present with the client due to AI notetaking capabilities. Please inform your provider if you do not wish to utilize AI tools during your appointment. 

Chart Review: Each nurse practitioner employed by “Mind Menders” is overseen by a supervising psychiatrist who is professionally obligated to review patient charts (10% of all charts, chosen at random) on a monthly basis. The purpose of monthly chart review is to provide continued excellence in patient care. As such, the supervising psychiatrist working in collaboration with your nurse practitioner may need to electronically access your patient information. Please be assured that HIPAA remains intact during the chart review process, and that our excellent supervising psychiatrists are bound to the same privacy requirements as the nurse practitioner with whom you meet in your appointment. 

Student Access to Protected Health Information: Mind Menders occasionally collaborates with accredited psychiatric nurse practitioner programs/universities in training the next generation of nurse practitioners. Nurse practitioner students are bound to the same privacy policies as the nurse practitioner with whom you visit. Should you consent to the presence of nurse practitioner student in your care, please note that students will have access to PHI through our electronic health record.

Personal Information Collection:
Mind Menders may collect demographic information such as age, gender, and location on a voluntary basis. We use this information to provide you with information regarding services which may be of interest to our clients. 

Third Party Information Sharing
We do not sell or lease client information. Mind Menders may be obligated to disclose PHI if mandated by law or to protect patient safety (or the safety of others). PHI disclosures that are used to track deliveries (ie: medications), electronic health record analysis/customer support, etc. are bound to the same HIPAA requirements as the health professionals with whom you may interact.

‍Tracking Client Behavior
‍We may track client visits to improve our services and deliver customized content.

Cookies
‍We may use "cookies" to enhance your experience on our website.

‍Automatically Collected Information
‍We may gather necessary information to enhance computer hardware/software systems.

‍Links
‍Our site might contain links to other websites. Mind Menders is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of other websites.

‍Security of Your Personal Information
‍We secure personal information from unauthorized access using SSL. Although we will do our best to keep your PHI private, please be advised that online data transmission in any form cannot be guaranteed as 100% secure.

‍Right to Deletion
All patients have the right to request that we delete your information, though retention of this information may be necessary for legal reasons.

‍E-mail Communications
Mind Menders may contact you via email (announcements, offers, alerts, and communication purposes). Please let us know if you choose to opt out of these communications.

‍Minors
‍We do not collect PHI from children under 13 without proper authorization from a parent or guardian.

External Data Storage Sites
Data is legally required to be stored with third-party vendors.

‍Rights of California Residents
‍We acknowledge the rights of California residents' under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The CCPA provides us with guidelines as to how PHI can be used and also safeguards the rights of the patient.

‍Changes to our Privacy Policy.
‍Mind Menders reserves the right to modify our Privacy Policy at any time. We will notify clients of any significant changes.

‍Contact Information
‍For questions or concerns regarding our Privacy Policy, please contact us at: admin@mindmenders.health