Yes. Lyte Psychiatry sees Boerne and Kendall County patients by secure video, with the same prescriber at every visit and Medicare and the major commercial plans in network. Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. Insured patients usually pay a $0–$30 copay per visit; a self-pay psychiatric evaluation is $250. There is no Lyte office in Boerne.
Who is this Boerne page for?
Start at the Kendall County Courthouse on Main Street. Within a few blocks of it there are more coffee shops and estate planners than there are psychiatrists. The first reader of this page is a retiree who moved to Boerne, Fair Oaks Ranch, or one of the ranch subdivisions off SH-46 for the Hill Country and the tax situation, is now on Medicare, and has been told by a San Antonio practice on the Stone Oak side that the next Medicare slot is in the fall. Sleep is bad, the grief after a spouse's death has not lifted, or the anxiety that used to be manageable at work is now unmanageable at home, and the family doctor at Boerne's primary care offices has run out of options short of a referral into the city.
The second reader is a parent in a Boerne ISD attendance zone whose child at Boerne High School or Champion High School is struggling, and who has a BCBS TX or UnitedHealthcare PPO from a job down I-10 at USAA, Valero, or one of the medical offices near the Medical Center. Methodist Boerne Emergency Center on I-10 handles a crisis. The six months of medication management that come after are a different job, and the drive to a San Antonio child psychiatrist for a 20-minute follow-up is a wasted half day. Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers, the public mental health authority for Kendall County, serves residents without coverage first, so an insured family is usually better served by a private practice that takes the plan.
What conditions can Lyte treat for Boerne patients by video?
Depression, anxiety, panic, social anxiety, PTSD and trauma, OCD, bipolar disorder, ADHD, insomnia, postpartum and perinatal mood problems, grief, and stress and burnout. Grief and insomnia are common reasons an older Kendall County patient sees a psychiatrist for the first time, and neither needs a specialist in San Antonio to treat well.
The service list is the same as for any Lyte patient. Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for adults, teens, and children; Dr. Akintola is board-certified in both adult and child and adolescent psychiatry. Therapy with licensed professional counselors using CBT, solution-focused, and trauma-focused work. Combined care, with the prescriber and the counselor writing in one chart, so a Boerne retiree whose adult children in Austin are worried can give one release and both clinicians are covered. ADHD evaluation and treatment for adults and teens. Dr. Akintola is a licensed Suboxone prescriber for opioid use disorder. Clinical letters for school and work are written on request.
Mode for Boerne: secure video only, no drive. There is no Lyte office in Boerne, Kendall County, or anywhere on the I-10 corridor. Our one clinic is in Pantego, inside Arlington, about 280 miles away, and we will not pretend that is a drive anyone in the Hill Country should make for a psychiatry visit. You take the visit from home on Cibolo Creek or from an office in San Antonio on your lunch hour, as long as you are physically in Texas and can speak privately.
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. For a Boerne student or adult with ADHD, we will lay out the non-stimulant options at the first video visit so you can start this week without the Pantego trip.
Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book. Prescriptions go electronically to your Boerne pharmacy that day, and refills go the same way after follow-ups.
What the numbers say about Boerne
Boerne is calmer than San Antonio on the CDC's distress measure and about even with it on diagnosed depression. CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) puts diagnosed depression among Boerne adults at 21.5%, against 22.4% in San Antonio and 19.7% in Texas. Frequent mental distress, defined as 14 or more poor mental health days in a month, is 15.5% in Boerne, against 17.2% in San Antonio, 16.1% in Texas, and 15.4% for the U.S. The same release counts 13,106 adults in Boerne, which sits in Kendall County. At 21.5%, about 2,800 Boerne adults carry a depression diagnosis, and roughly 2,030 report frequent mental distress. Kendall County has no psychiatric hospital, and for most of those 2,000 or so people, ongoing care has meant driving I-10 to Stone Oak or the Medical Center in San Antonio.
| Measure | Boerne | San Antonio | Texas | U.S. | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults diagnosed with depression | 21.5% | 22.4% | 19.7% | 21.8% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ bad days/month) | 15.5% | 17.2% | 16.1% | 15.4% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population, Boerne (Kendall County) | 13,106 | 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 Boerne with Medicare or insurance?
Medicare is in network, and so are the commercial plans below. 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 |
Medicare leads in Boerne because of the retiree population in Fair Oaks Ranch, Tapatio Springs, and the neighborhoods off SH-46 and FM 1376; send us a photo of the red, white, and blue card or the Humana card and we will tell you the visit cost before you log on. Boerne ISD staff are on TRS-ActiveCare, which BCBS TX administers and which is in network here. Commuters to USAA, Valero, and the hospital systems along I-10 mostly carry BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, or Aetna PPOs, and those plans cover video visits in network, so the $0–$30 copay range applies. Self-pay is a flat price with no facility fee, and HSA and FSA cards are accepted.
Who will you see at Lyte?
Dr. Akinwande Akintola, MD, is our medical director and supervisory psychiatrist, board-certified in Adult Psychiatry and in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He 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 12 or more years of experience. Therapy is with NaTascha Jones, LPC, and Prishina Jimenez, LPC. Lyte has served 3,000+ patients with a 4.9-star average from 200+ Google reviews.
Learn how therapy and psychiatry work together when both are part of your care plan.
Your questions, answered
Frequently asked questions from Boerne patients
Is there a psychiatrist who takes Medicare and can see a Boerne patient by video this week?
Yes. Lyte is in network with Medicare and sees Boerne patients by secure video, and most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. A Kendall County retiree does not need a referral to book with us, and there is no drive to a Stone Oak or Medical Center practice for the first visit or any follow-up.
Does Lyte have an office in Boerne or anywhere in Kendall County?
No. Boerne is video-only for us. Our single clinic is at 2900 W Park Row Dr in Pantego, inside Arlington, about 280 miles northeast, and no one in the Hill Country should drive that for a psychiatry visit. Every visit happens by video from Boerne, Fair Oaks Ranch, Comfort, or wherever in Texas you are that day, with the in-person first evaluation for a stimulant as the one exception.
How quickly can a Boerne ISD student be seen for anxiety or ADHD?
Usually within 1–2 business days. Dr. Akintola is board-certified in child and adolescent psychiatry and sees students by video. Send counselor notes or a 504 request from Boerne High, Champion High, or a Boerne ISD middle school before the visit, and we write letters back to the campus on request. Stimulants are the one exception to video, per the ADHD policy above.
What will I pay in Boerne with Medicare, a PPO, or no insurance?
With Medicare or an in-network plan such as BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, or Cigna, most Boerne patients pay a $0–$30 copay per visit. Without insurance, a new-patient psychiatric evaluation is $250, a medication follow-up is $150, a first therapy session is $150, and a therapy follow-up is $125. The self-pay rate is flat, the same whether you live in Fair Oaks Ranch or out on FM 1376.
I was told Hill Country MHDD in Kendall County has a wait. Should I still call them?
Yes, if you have no insurance and cannot pay $250; Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers is the public mental health authority for Kendall County and exists for that situation. If you have Medicare, Tricare, or a commercial plan, you can be seen at Lyte within 1–2 business days by video and take yourself off their list once you are settled.
Can my adult child in Austin or Houston book the visit for me and join it?
Yes to both, with your permission. An adult child can book at book.lytepsych.com for a parent in Boerne, and with a signed release can join the video visit from another Texas city and receive updates from the prescriber. Many Kendall County retirees have family two or three hours away, and a shared chart with one release covers both the prescriber and the therapist.
Where in Boerne can I take a video visit if home is not private?
Any private place in Texas works. A parked car outside the Patrick Heath Public Library or a bedroom with the door closed both count. The visit cannot happen while you are driving on I-10, and it cannot happen from outside Texas, so a trip to a second home in Colorado means rescheduling.
Nearby areas we also serve
Explore care across San Antonio & South Texas or all Texas locations.
We also see patients from San Antonio, Kerrville, New Braunfels, and Schertz and Cibolo.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in Boerne
Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers is the public mental health authority for Kendall County and serves residents without insurance. Call or text 988 any time for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Methodist Boerne Emergency Center on I-10 is the local option for a mental health emergency that cannot wait for an appointment. The SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 is a free referral line for substance use and mental health treatment.
Book a video visit at book.lytepsych.com and we will verify your Medicare or commercial 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.