Welcome to LifeStance Health
Patient FAQs
As Affiliated Family Counselors joins our community, we are honored to continue your mental health care in-person, online, or a combination of both. To help you understand what this change means for you, please review these Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
General Practice Updates
Affiliated Family Counselors’ owner, Darcy Buehler, aimed to ensure that this Wichita practice lasted beyond her tenure. She explored many options for her succession and felt that LifeStance Health’s emphasis in clinical excellence, quality patient care, and making mental health accessible matched Affiliated Family Counselors’ values. LifeStance Health feels privileged to continue Darcy and Affiliated Family Counselors’ legacy. During the organizational transition, Darcy will remain involved.
Yes, the new practice name is LifeStance Health. Including Kansas, LifeStance has clinics in 33 States across 550+ locations. Expect to see LifeStance Health signage inside and outside of the Wichita building.
The front office will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Phone hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Clinicians may choose to see patients during this time and/or outside of this time period, and either in-person or through telehealth visits. Some clinicians may have available appointments on weekends too.
Care Continuity and Your Clinician(s)
If your clinician has chosen to continue practicing with LifeStance Health, you may do so as long as your insurance is accepted. Please note that LifeStance Health does not accept Medicaid (KMAP), Magellan, or Ambetter at this time.
If your clinician is practicing outside of LifeStance Health, or if your insurance is not accepted, you may choose to continue care with them independently or explore other Kansas LifeStance providers. Our team is happy to help you understand your options and support a smooth transition of care. Call (316) 636-2888 for support.
Clinicians’ roles, schedules, or availability may stay the same or change. To learn what is the case for a specific clinician, please contact our office at (316) 636-2888 or you can review your clinician’s availability on LifeStance’s Kansas provider directory.
With LifeStance, your clinician has the option to see as many patients as they’d like within their weekly capacity. This may fluctuate based on a clinician’s professional and personal needs so they may have more or less patients at different points. This helps clinicians balance their obligations and life so that they are prepared to give full attention to their patients.
Yes. You are welcome to book online or call (316) 636-2888 to speak with our front desk team. Either option allows you to get matched with a clinician that meets your needs, schedule, and session type preferences (e.g. in-person, online, or a combination of both).
Yes. LifeStance employs 39 clinicians in Kansas, including psychiatric clinicians, psychologists, and therapists. Each is licensed and highly qualified in their field. Read some patient reviews to hear what current patients think about LifeStance clinicians. Overall, LifeStance is proud to be rated 4.9 stars across more than 159,505 online reviews.
The transition to LifeStance also means using a different Electronic Health Record (EHR). Therefore, submitting your proof of insurance, billing information, and completing patient paperwork is required. Please expect to complete these tasks via LifeStance’s digital check-in link or with the front desk staff.
We want you to feel comfortable and confident in your mental health care, even if that involves another entity. Please make the choice that works best for you. Feel free to contact us at (316) 636-2888 with any needs or questions related to transitioning your care.
Appointments and Scheduling
No, all scheduled appointments will be moved to the LifeStance Electronic Health Record (EHR) and remain the same.
Appointment times will not change unless you and your clinician have agreed upon new appointment dates and times. Please work with your clinician to confirm appointment frequency and type (i.e. in-person or virtual) for future appointments.
No. New LifeStance appointments should be booked on LifeStance.com or by calling (316) 636-2888 to speak with the LifeStance front desk team. Typically, your clinician will schedule the necessary follow-up appointments with you at the end of each session.
As long as you opt in to receive text messages or email from LifeStance, you will receive electronic reminders (via text and/or email). The frequency of reminders depends on the type of appointment (e.g. therapy, medication management, testing, etc.).
LifeStance does not charge patients for cancellations that occur more than 48 hours before the appointment time. Patients that cancel their appointments within 48 hours of the appointment time or are a no-show will be charged $75 to compensate the clinician for the missed visit.
For any mental health emergencies, please visit your nearest emergency room or call 911 or 988 for the Crisis and Suicide Lifeline.
LifeStance invests in hiring experienced clinicians to meet patient demand. Wait times change as patients make decisions about continuing care, however, LifeStance will continue to hire clinicians with a goal of maintaining appointment wait times to a couple days.
Communication and Support
You can use the LifeStance Patient Portal to send and receive non-urgent messages about appointments, financials, and more. Follow these steps:
- Register or login to the Patient Portal.
- Click “Ask a Question” or “Messages” to open the messaging center
- Under “Subject,” select “Ask Physician/Clinician directly”
- Under “Message,” write your inquiry or comments
- Hit “Send Message”
Clinicians tend to check their messages regularly during business hours. Once your clinician responds, you will receive an email notification. Follow the email instructions or the above steps 1-2 to access the message.
The phone number will remain the same, however, all emails will transition to communication through our Patient Portal to maintain the highest level of patient privacy. Patient Portal communication is also part of the patient chart to track patient needs and to create transparency in care communication.
You will receive updates about the transition through the LifeStance Patient Portal. Your clinician will also be able to relay information about your care under LifeStance and you can also call our office at (316) 636-2888 with any questions.
The afcwichita.com website will remain live during the transition. It will look slightly different with a new co-branded logo. Where appropriate, some links (likely related to appointments and billing) will direct to LifeStance.com. Eventually, the afcwichita.com website will no longer exist.
Locations and Access
No. The physical location will continue to be 1855 N Webb Road, Wichita, KS 67206. The building signage and name will change to LifeStance Health.
Parking and building access remain the same. LifeStance uses an online check-in system so that you can conveniently confirm your appointment, personal data, and payment method in advance of your appointment.
For in-person care, continue to go to 1855 N Webb Road, Wichita, KS 67206 unless you are given different instructions.
Kansas clinicians’ telehealth links and waiting rooms can be found on LifeStance.com under “Current Patients,” and “Telehealth Waiting Rooms.”
Yes, LifeStance clinicians offer appointments online, in-person, or a combination of both.
Yes, LifeStance has three other sites in Kansas. Two are in Overland Park and one is in Lawrence.
Billing, Insurance, and Payments
LifeStance participates with many major commercial insurance plans in Kansas, including Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, BlueCross BlueShield of Kansas and more. At this time, LifeStance does not accept Medicaid (KMAP), Magellan, or Ambetter. If you have any insurance questions, contact your insurance provider or call our office at (316) 636-2888 for help with reviewing your coverage.
Yes. The transition to LifeStance also means using a different Electronic Health Record (EHR). Therefore, submitting your proof of insurance, billing information, and completing patient paperwork is required. Please anticipate these requests when creating your Patient Portal account, using the digital check-in system, or in-office on or after March 1, 2026. We recommend completing this paperwork through the digital check-in system (on your personal device) ahead of time. Or, please arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled in-person appointment to complete this paperwork.
Your costs are determined by your insurance plan benefits. Copays, deductibles, and out-of-pocket amounts may vary depending on your plan and the services provided.
LifeStance accepts many major insurances. Most copays in Kansas are between $23-$39 with insurance but actual costs depend on your specific plan. Use our Insurance Cost Planning Tool to view average copay costs for various insurances.
For visits on or after March 1, 2026: please make a payment using one of the following options:
- Digital check-in link (sent to you via text or email) prior to your next appointment
- Online in your Patient Portal
- Phone by calling (253) 254-5913
For visits before March 1, 2026: payment will be handled through the Affiliated Family Counselors’ billing system, using the instructions provided on billing statements for those visits or by calling (316) 669-4953.
Possibly. If you received services both before and after March 1, 2026, you may receive separate statements. Each statement will list the dates of service and the appropriate contact information.
For visits on or after March 1, 2026: contact the LifeStance billing team at (253) 254-5913.
For visits before March 1, 2026: call (316) 669-4953
If you’re not sure, contact LifeStance and we’re happy to help route you to the correct place.
No. Balances and credits for services before March 1, 2026, remain in the prior billing system and do not automatically transfer to LifeStance. Services on or after March 1, 2026, will be billed through LifeStance.
Records, Privacy, and Consent
For patients continuing care with LifeStance, their medical records do transfer to LifeStance. For patients not continuing care with LifeStance, please request your records anytime online or by calling (800) 367-1500 to speak with a live customer service support. If you prefer, you can also call (480) 690-1139 to receive a secure request link via text message.
Yes. The transition to LifeStance also means using a different Electronic Health Record (EHR). Therefore, submitting your proof of insurance, billing information, and completing patient paperwork is required. Please anticipate these requests when creating your Patient Portal account and/or using the digital check-in system.
Your privacy protections will follow Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines.
Please request your records anytime online or by calling (800) 367-1500 to speak with a live customer service support. If you prefer, you can also call (480) 690-1139 to receive a secure request link via text message.
Prescriptions and Treatment Plans
If your prescribing clinician with Affiliated Family Counselors is Amy Torres, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC, CHC or Van Van, PA and you are continuing services with Amy Torres or Van Van, then your prescription plan will carry over to LifeStance. If you are starting with another prescribing clinician that was not formerly with Affiliated Family Counselors, then please work with this clinician to ensure any prescriptions are accurate.
Please request prescription refills through the LifeStance Patient Portal by sending a message to your clinician (see instructions in the “Communications and Support” section of this FAQs). In your message, note which prescription you would like to refill and include the pharmacy name.
Please confirm your preferred pharmacy in the digital check-in process or with the front office staff.
If there are any issues with your prescriptions, please send a message to your clinician via the Patient Portal, following the instructions in the “Communications and Support” section of this FAQs. Or, you may call the office directly at (316) 636-2888.
Medications are prescribed only when clinically appropriate and should be taken only as directed by your clinician.
More Questions?
Please call (316) 636-2888 between the hours of 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday to speak with the front office staff. Or, send a message any time via the Patient Portal. We look forward to hearing from you!