Yes. Lyte Psychiatry sees Baytown patients by secure video, in English or Spanish, and you can book online any time, including after a night shift at the plants. Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. Insured patients usually pay a $0–$30 copay per visit, and a self-pay psychiatric evaluation is $250.
Who needs this Baytown page?
The ExxonMobil Baytown complex off SH-146 runs every hour of the year, and the people who run it sleep at odd times. A board operator coming off nights at the refinery, or an operator at the Cedar Bayou plant on the east side of town, cannot sit in a Houston waiting room at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday, and the next opening at an in-network psychiatrist near the Medical Center is weeks away anyway. That operator is the first person this page is written for. The second is the spouse at home in Goose Creek or off Garth Road who has been carrying the household through a turnaround season and has stopped sleeping.
Baytown has more institutions than psychiatrists. Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital on Garth Road handles the emergencies. Goose Creek CISD counselors at Sterling, Goose Creek Memorial, and Lee High School can name a student who needs a prescriber but cannot supply one. Lee College has a counseling office for students, with limits on how far it goes. The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD is the public mental health authority for Harris County, and it serves residents without coverage first, which puts a plant employee with a good Aetna or BCBS TX card near the back of that line. If you have insurance or can pay $250, you can be seen by video this week, from Baytown, without crossing the Fred Hartman Bridge or fighting I-10 into Houston.
What can Lyte treat for Baytown patients by video?
Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for adults, teens, and children. Therapy with licensed professional counselors trained in CBT, solution-focused, and trauma-focused work. Combined care, meaning your prescriber and your therapist share one chart and read each other's notes. ADHD evaluation and treatment for adults and teens, with stimulant and non-stimulant medication.
Conditions we treat include depression, anxiety, panic, social anxiety, PTSD and trauma, OCD, bipolar disorder, ADHD, insomnia, postpartum and perinatal mood problems, grief, and stress and burnout. Dr. Akintola is a licensed Suboxone prescriber for opioid use disorder, which matters for a plant worker whose pain prescription after a back injury turned into a dependence. Clinical letters for school, work, and fitness-for-duty questions are written on request.
Baytown is video only. Lyte has no office in Baytown, none anywhere in Harris County, and our single clinic in Pantego, in the Arlington area, is roughly 270 miles away by I-10 and I-45. Nobody should drive that for a psychiatry visit, and we will not suggest it. Every visit happens by secure video with the same provider, and your prescription is sent to the Baytown pharmacy you name, whether it sits on Garth Road or Decker Drive.
If you are starting a stimulant for ADHD, our policy is that the first evaluation happens in person at our Pantego clinic; follow-ups can be by video. Non-stimulant ADHD medication and everything else can start by video. Because that first drive is not realistic from Baytown, we will talk through the non-stimulant options at your video evaluation, and many adults and teens do well on them. Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book.
Tell us your rotation when you book. If you are on a 4-on, 4-off pattern, say so, and we will work follow-ups around it. If you want a therapist too, you can book the first counseling session as well, and the counselor reads the same chart your prescriber wrote in.
Learn how therapy and psychiatry work together when both are part of your care plan.
What the numbers say about Baytown
Baytown reports more depression and more distress than Pasadena, its nearest industrial neighbor down SH-225. CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) puts diagnosed depression among Baytown adults at 21.5%, compared with 20.7% in Pasadena and 19.7% across Texas. Frequent mental distress, meaning 14 or more poor mental health days in a month, is 18.5% in Baytown, compared with 17.8% in Pasadena and 16.1% for Texas. The same CDC release counts 61,186 adults in Baytown, which sits in Harris County, so the distress figure covers about 11,300 people in a town with one hospital.
| Measure | Baytown | Pasadena | Texas | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults diagnosed with depression | 21.5% | 20.7% | 19.7% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ bad days/month) | 18.5% | 17.8% | 16.1% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population, Baytown (Harris County) | 61,186 | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
The depression and frequent mental distress figures are model-based estimates. Read the CDC PLACES methodology for the survey years, population basis, and estimation limits.
How much does an online psychiatrist cost in Baytown with insurance?
In network: BlueCross BlueShield of Texas, UnitedHealthcare and Optum, Cigna and Evernorth, Aetna, Humana, Ambetter, Medicare, Tricare, and more (see the full list). Benefits are verified before the first visit. Most insured patients pay a $0–$30 copay per visit.
| Visit | Self-pay |
|---|---|
| Psychiatric evaluation (new patient) | $250 |
| Medication follow-up | $150 |
| Therapy, first session | $150 |
| Therapy, follow-up | $125 |
| QbCheck ADHD test | $150 |
| Late cancellation / no-show | $100 |
The self-pay prices are flat, with no facility fee, and HSA and FSA cards are accepted. Baytown's coverage follows its employers. Plant and contractor employees at the ExxonMobil complex and the Cedar Bayou plant tend to carry large commercial PPOs, and Aetna, BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, and Cigna are all in network here. Goose Creek CISD staff on TRS-ActiveCare, which BCBS TX administers, can use that plan. Lee College employees and Houston Methodist Baytown staff should check the carrier on their card, since both employers offer more than one option. Medicare covers our visits for retirees who spent a career at the refinery and stayed in Baytown.
Who will you see at Lyte?
Dr. Akinwande Akintola, MD, is the medical director and supervisory psychiatrist. He is board-certified in Adult Psychiatry and in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, trained at Johns Hopkins, stayed on faculty there, and moved to Texas in 2012. Toyin Awe, PMHNP-BC, is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with more than 12 years of experience. Therapy is with NaTascha Jones, LPC, and Prishina Jimenez, LPC. Lyte has served 3,000+ patients and holds a 4.9-star average across 200+ Google reviews.
Your questions, answered
Frequently asked questions from Baytown patients
Is there a psychiatrist who takes new patients in Baytown right now?
By video, yes. Lyte sees new Baytown patients within 1–2 business days, and you book online without a referral from Houston Methodist Baytown or your primary care doctor. If you have called around the Garth Road and Rollingbrook medical offices and found waitlists, you can start here while you wait or instead of waiting.
Does Lyte have an office in Baytown, or do I have to drive to Houston?
Neither. Baytown care from Lyte is video only. Our one clinic is in Pantego near Arlington, about 270 miles from Baytown, so there is no in-person option we would ask you to use. You also do not need to drive west on I-10 to a Houston office; every visit happens from your home, or your truck in the plant parking lot after a shift.
Can I get an appointment around a 12-hour shift at the ExxonMobil complex?
Yes. Tell us your rotation when you book and we will work follow-ups around it. The first evaluation is usually within 1–2 business days of booking. Turnaround season at the Baytown refinery and chemical plant means long weeks of overtime; if your schedule shifts, reschedule online rather than eating the $100 late-cancellation fee.
What does a psychiatrist cost in Baytown with insurance versus paying cash?
With an in-network plan such as Aetna, BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, or Cigna, most Baytown patients pay a $0–$30 copay per visit, and we verify the exact number before your first visit. Without insurance, a new-patient psychiatric evaluation is $250, a medication follow-up is $150, a first therapy session is $150, and therapy follow-ups are $125. A Lee College student without a plan can pay the $250 with an HSA or FSA card if a parent has one.
My teenager is at Goose Creek Memorial and the counselor says to find a psychiatrist. Can you see them?
Yes. Dr. Akintola is board-certified in child and adolescent psychiatry and sees teens from Goose Creek CISD by video with a parent present. We can typically schedule within 1–2 business days. Bring the counselor's notes to the first visit, and we will write a letter for the campus or for a 504 meeting on request.
Can my visits be in Spanish?
Yes. Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book. That covers the evaluation, follow-ups, and therapy, so a Spanish-speaking family in Baytown does not have to have a bilingual teenager translate a psychiatric visit for a parent.
I have ADHD and wanted a stimulant. Does the Pantego rule mean I cannot start from Baytown?
Yes, you can start from Baytown, on a non-stimulant. If you are starting a stimulant for ADHD, our policy is that the first evaluation happens in person at our Pantego clinic; follow-ups can be by video. Non-stimulant ADHD medication and everything else can start by video. From Baytown, the practical route is a non-stimulant started by video, and for many adults working shift rotations at the plants a non-stimulant is a reasonable first choice anyway. If you later decide a stimulant is the right medication, the Pantego visit is available and you can pair it with a trip to DFW.
Nearby areas we also serve
Explore care across Greater Houston & Gulf Coast or all Texas locations.
We also see patients by video in Pasadena, Houston, League City, Pearland, and Humble and Kingwood.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in Baytown
The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD is the public mental health authority for Harris County and serves residents without insurance first. Call or text 988 any time to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital's emergency department on Garth Road is the in-town option for a psychiatric emergency. Lee College students can ask the college's counseling office about short-term help while they wait for a prescriber.
Book a video visit at book.lytepsych.com and we will verify your benefits before you are seen. Or call 469-733-0848.
Find the public mental health authority for your county through the Texas HHS local authority directory.