Your First Visit at New Horizon Behavioral Health in West Hartford: What New Patients Can Expect

Everything between deciding to call and sitting down with a clinician at New Horizon Behavioral Health, written out so there are no surprises. No portal to set up and no forms to print before you are seen. A person handles each step.

Step 1: send the request, or call

Use the form on the contact page or call (860) 838-8799. Either reaches the same people. The form asks for scheduling details only, so keep symptoms and medication names out of it and save them for the appointment. If you are a referring provider, say so on the form and send clinical detail by secure fax.

Step 2: the office calls you back

The office confirms what you are looking for, answers questions about how the practice works, and checks that an evaluation here is the right starting point. If it is not, you are told then rather than after you have taken a morning off work.

Step 3: benefits are verified before you are scheduled

The office checks your coverage, finds out whether your plan needs a referral or a prior authorization, and tells you your expected cost in writing. For Spravato this step is longer, because the authorization has to document the antidepressants you have already tried.

Step 4: you get an appointment and a short list

A time, the address, and what to bring. Ste N is on the north side of 10 Princeton St.

Step 5: the first visit is an evaluation

About 60 minutes with your clinician: what brought you in, how long it has been going on, what you have tried, medical and family history, and what you want to be different. It ends with a plan you have agreed to. Nothing is prescribed and no course of treatment starts before that conversation.

What follows depends on the service. Therapy: your clinician explains the approach they recommend and roughly how long it should take. Medication management: a full psychiatric evaluation, and if something is prescribed, you leave knowing what it is for and what to watch for. Spravato: the first visit decides candidacy, not dosing. No medication is given that day, and dosing sessions, if approved, each need a ride home.

What to bring

• A photo ID and your insurance card, front and back.
• Every medication you take now, with doses, plus vitamins and supplements.
• Psychiatric medications you have tried before, roughly what dose and for how long.
• Your primary care provider's name and phone number, and your current therapist or prescriber if you have one.
• Any records or discharge paperwork already in hand.
• Your questions, written down.

If something is missing, come anyway. Nobody is turned away over a missing card.

Office policies worth knowing early

Cancellations: give as much notice as you can; slots in behavioral health are scarce. Running late: call, and the office will use the time remaining or move you rather than rush an evaluation. Messages: answered during business hours only; anything urgent goes to 988 or 911. Refills: ask your pharmacy to send the request and allow a couple of business days. Records: protected under HIPAA and Connecticut law.

Common first questions

Do I need a referral? Not to be seen here. Some plans require one for coverage, which is checked during benefits verification.

Can I bring someone? Yes. For Spravato you will need a driver anyway.

Will you talk to my other providers? With your written authorization, yes, and the practice prefers to.

Are visits online? No. Every appointment is in person at the West Hartford office, for adults 18 and over.

Full details are on the new patients page. To start, request an appointment or call.

New Horizon Behavioral Health
10 Princeton St, Ste N, West Hartford, CT 06110
Phone: (860) 838-8799
Email: info@newhorizonbehavioralhealth.com
By appointment, Monday through Friday.
If things get worse before your first visit, call or text 988, call 211 for Connecticut crisis services, or call 911 if there is immediate danger.