Our Services
Talking therapy and medication management, in one practice
Dr. Bushong offers two kinds of care, often together. You do not have to know which one you need before you get in touch — working that out is what the first appointment is for.
How payment works
This practice is private pay. We do not bill insurance, and you are responsible for payment for all services.
If your plan covers out-of-network care, we can provide a statement. You send it to your insurance and claim the reimbursement yourself.
Psychotherapy
Regular sessions, one to one
Psychotherapy is talking with someone trained to help you make sense of what is happening and decide what to do about it.
There are several kinds of talking therapy. Rather than fitting you to one method, Dr. Bushong listens first and then chooses the approach that suits your situation, your age and the pace you want to work at. If something is not helping, you say so and it changes.
Sessions run 30 or 60 minutes. Some people come weekly for a while, others come monthly, and some come only during a difficult stretch. That is a decision you make together, not a package you sign up for.
What a session looks like
30 or 60 minutes
Longer sessions leave room for the harder subjects. You can change the length as things change.
You set the agenda
You decide what is worth talking about.
In the office, in the valley
Sessions are in person at the Aspen or Carbondale office, in a private room with the door shut.
Medication Management
Medicine, prescribed carefully and reviewed often
Medication management means the careful use of prescribed medicine — choosing it with you, starting it slowly, and reviewing how it is working at every visit.
Dr. Bushong is a psychopharmacologist, which means the way medicines work in the body is his particular field. If medicine is part of your plan, he explains in plain words what it is for, what it may feel like in the first weeks, and what to watch for. Nothing is prescribed before that conversation.
Medicine is never the only option on the table, and it is not a substitute for talking. Many people do both. If you would rather not take medicine, say so — that is a reasonable choice and the plan is built around it.
How we handle medicine
Reviewed every visit
How you are sleeping, eating and feeling is checked at each appointment, not once a year.
Your questions come first
Ask anything about a prescription. If the answer is not clear, it has not been explained well enough.
Getting Started
Your first appointment
The first visit is a long one — a psychiatric diagnostic evaluation. It is mostly listening.
Dr. Bushong will ask about what brought you in, your health and any medicines you take, how you sleep and eat, your family, school or work, and what you want to be different. If the appointment is for a child or a teenager, a parent is usually part of the conversation, and there is time for the young person to talk on their own.
You do not need to prepare anything. Bringing a list of current medicines and the name of your primary care doctor is helpful, and nothing more is required. At the end you will have a plan you agree with, and a clear idea of what the next appointment is for.
Before you come in
A list of your medicines
Names and doses if you have them, including anything from another prescriber.
Which office suits you
Aspen or Carbondale. You can switch between them later.
Time to talk properly
Allow a full session. This appointment is longer than the ones that follow.
Who We Work With
Children, teenagers and adults — often in the same family
Dr. Bushong is board certified in child, adolescent and adult psychiatry, so one physician can see a teenager and a parent without either being referred somewhere else.
People come to the practice for many reasons — worry that will not settle, low mood, trouble focusing, sleep that has come apart, a hard year that has not ended. You do not need a diagnosis to make an appointment, and you do not need to explain it all before you arrive.
Children
With a parent involved throughout, and at a pace a child can follow.
Teenagers
Time alone to talk, and clear limits on what is shared with family.
Adults
Therapy, medication review, or both, scheduled around work and family.
Working With Us
How it works
Three steps, at your pace. Nothing is decided before we have talked it through.
-
Step 1
Get In Contact
Call, send a short message, or book straight into the calendar. Tell us which office suits you and we take it from there.
-
Step 2
In-Depth Evaluation
A long first appointment. Dr. Bushong listens to your history, your health, and what you want to change.
-
Step 3
Develop a Plan
You and Dr. Bushong agree on a plan together — talking therapy, medicine, or both — and adjust it as things change.
Crisis & Support
If you need help right now
These services are free, confidential, and open at all hours. They are not part of this practice.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text, 24/7
Crisis Text Line
Text, 24/7
SAMHSA National Helpline
Treatment referral and information, 24/7
Aspen Hope Center
Call, 24/7