Your use of health insurance may restrict your access to some psychiatrists who may not be enrolled in your insurance plan’s provider network. But there are still easy ways to find a psychiatrist who will work with your insurance.

1. Your insurance plan will provide you with access to an online provider network directory to assist you in finding a psychiatrist in their network.

2. Another option is to call the member services number and ask them to provide you with several names of psychiatrists in their network directory. However, the directory often does not tell you whether or not the psychiatrist is currently taking new patients or when their next appointment opening might be. For this information, you must call the psychiatrist directly.

3. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to have to call several psychiatrists before you can reach someone who returns your call or who is accepting new patients. If you cannot locate anyone, call member services and let them know that despite many calls to psychiatrists in their network, you have been unable to find anyone with whom you can make an appointment. ​Your insurer’s contract with you requires that they provide you with a psychiatrist. ​Ask them to find someone for you. If they are not helpful, health insurers are regulated by the Department of Insurance in your state. If necessary, you will be able to seek help from the insurance commissioner.

4. Another way to find a psychiatrist who accepts your insurance and has an appointment available is to use a website called ZocDoc (​www.zocdoc.com​). ZocDoc is a free matching service for patients that enables you to search for a medical or behavioral health specialist by zip code (or town/state), the name of your insurance company, and the type of plan you have. When you enter your personal information, you will be presented with links to clinicians within a specified distance of your home or office who accept your insurance and who offer open appointment times in their calendar. An important note to add is that clinicians are invited to join ZocDoc because their names appeared among a list of Top Doctors published in magazines and on websites like Boston Magazine, US News, and World Report. You can check out these profiles with a simple Google search.

5. Yet another way to find a psychiatrist is to ask your primary care doctor (PCP). Because of the prevalence of mental disorders in primary care practices (roughly 1/3 of all patients), most PCPs have developed relationships with psychiatrists in the community with whom they share the care of patients. Thus, it is likely that they can refer you to someone they know and trust.

6. If your employer has an Employee Assistance Program, or EAP, they may also be able to help refer you to a psychiatrist with whom they collaborate. If you are a student, the university health service will have psychiatrists on staff.