Caroline C. Batenburg, MD

During the first visit (one hour for adults, one and a half for children and teens) a broad range of subjects will be addressed. Of course, formost the issues of concern, but also a broad array of medical, psychological and social matters will be discussed. After this a working diagnosis will be made and a treatment plan developed. For children and teens, it is expected that one parent, but preferably two parents are present for the evaluation (and always at least one parent for follow-up visits). Adults may bring someone they trust to the evaluation, if so desired.

YES, at this time Dr. Batenburg is taking new patients. It is her practice to close the practice for new patients periodically, to avoid exceedingly long wait times for new patient appointments. If the practice is currently closed, please check back in the future (on this page and the Facebook page) Once admitted to the practice, she will see patients for follow-up appointments at clinically appropriate times. (Updated 5/6/2024)

By calling the office: (830) 606-0955. A referral from a primary care physician or local therapist is required. Please ask your provider to fax or mail us referral information. Once a referral has been received, Dr. Batenburg reviews the information, in order to determine whether she feels she has the appropriate expertise and availability of a timely first appointment in her practice. You will receive a call back from the office staff with an appointment time, if approved and referral information to other psychiatrists if the referral cannot be accepted. Please note that as of October 1, 2019, no new patient referrals are taken, due to the practice being full. Please check back after Jan 1, 2020 to see if the practice is taking new patients again.

In case of an immediate emergency, call 911: paramedics and law enforcement will come to your location to deal with a mental health crisis. If you are an existing patient and no local aid is needed, you may call the office (830) 606-0955 to find out who the on-call doctor is. Both physicians are reachable by phone. PLEASE always check who is on call, so that the on-call doctor can respond to your needs. A mental health crisis can be thoughts or threats of suicide or other bodily harm or other urgent matters. If preferred, you may also call or text the suicide hotline 988. You could also go to a Sigma Mental Health Urgent Care in San Antonio, Boerne or Austin. https://www.sigmamhuc.com/

Dr. Batenburg sees new patients as young as age 3 up to approximately age 50. When patients age, she will refer to a geriatric psychiatrist as deemed appropriate.

Dr. Batenburg treats a wide variety of mental health conditions, in both children, adolescents and adults. She has treated many forms of depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders (OCD etc). She has vast experience in treating A/D-HD. She has a special interest in reproductive issues in women, LGBT issues and atypical mental health issues. *Dr. Batenburg does not specialize in treating addictive disorders.

Dr. Batenburg works as a fee for service provider with payment expected at the time of service. She is an in network provider for Cigna. She does not take Medicaid or new Medicare patients. She can see patients with other insurance plans as an out of network provider. Patients will get a receipt after each visit, which can be submitted by the patient to their insurance carrier.

Demand for psychiatric services is high. In order to keep quality of care, Dr. Batenburg limits her practice in such a way, so she can be fully available and focussed on the patients she has under her care. Please take note that once you are a patient, YOUR missed appointments are what delays others in receiving care.

Dr. Batenburg is a solo practitioner. She supervises a part-time PA, Mr. Thomas Van Horn, who works half a day per week. He treats only adult patients. Patients are generally not 'shared', meaning that patients generally stay with Mr. Van Horn OR Dr. Batenburg, whomever they have started with as a provider. Exceptions are made because of absence or matters of urgency. Call is shared with Dr. Mark A. Burns, reachable at the same number. Dr. Batenburg is supported by a team of office staff, which forms an integral part of her office.

Please contact our office for detailed information. First evaluations are charged with a set fee. After that, the fee depends on time, medical complexity and type of treatment provided.

Generally, no fees are assessed for medication refills between visits. This incudes refills for controlled substances. We ask that you contact your pharmacy directly for all refill requests. ALL MEDICATION REFILLS NEED TO BE REQUESTED 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE. Refills that need to be filled prior to the 48 hour notification may be assessed a fee up to $40 per prescription. If a non-emergency refill is granted on a weekend, you will be charged a $40 fee. A 're-write' fee of $25 will be charged, if a controlled substance prescription has expired and has to be resent or rewritten.

In general, Dr. Batenburg expects her patients to be seen in person. She believes that optimal psychiatric care is under most circumstances rendered in person. In certain situations she may allow tele-visits to take place. It is her policy to not allow tele-visits for a first evaluation.