Yes. Lyte Psychiatry sees Conroe patients by secure video from home or a parked car anywhere in Montgomery County. Most new patients get a first visit within 1–2 business days. In network, that visit is usually a $0–$30 copay. Without insurance, a new-patient psychiatric evaluation costs a flat $250.
Who is this page for in Conroe?
It is 5:40 in the morning and you are already on I-45 south of Loop 336, headed for a job in Spring or the Energy Corridor, with the sun not up and the radio reporting a stall at Rayford Road. You have been meaning to see someone about the sleep and the temper for a year. Every psychiatry office you found keeps hours that end before you clear the Hardy Toll Road on the way home. That commuter is the first person this page is written for. The second is a parent on the east side of town, off FM 3083 or out toward Cut and Shoot, whose kid at Caney Creek High School or Conroe High School has a Conroe ISD counselor asking for an outside evaluation, and whose pediatrician's referral list has already been called.
Conroe is the Montgomery County seat, and the county's services cluster here. Tri-County Behavioral Healthcare, the public mental health authority for Montgomery County, serves residents without coverage first, and it does that work for the whole county, so an insured patient calling for a routine evaluation is not at the front of the line. HCA Houston Healthcare Conroe, off I-45, has an emergency department for a crisis and a large staff of its own. Lone Star College-Montgomery, on College Park Drive by SH 242, has counseling for enrolled students only. If your card says BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, or Cigna, or you can pay $250, a private practice that works by video will usually see you this week and can do it after the commute.
What can Lyte treat for Conroe patients?
Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for adults, teens, and children. Therapy with licensed professional counselors using CBT, solution-focused, and trauma-focused methods. Combined care, meaning the prescriber and the therapist write in one chart and each reads what the other wrote. ADHD evaluation and treatment for adults and teens, with stimulant and non-stimulant options.
Conditions we treat: 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 patients who work pipeline or plant jobs along SH 105 and FM 1488. Clinical letters for Conroe ISD campuses, employers, and clearances are written on request.
Mode: video only. Lyte has no office in Conroe. Our single clinic is in Pantego, a small town inside Arlington, and it sits more than 200 miles up I-45 from the Montgomery County courthouse. Nobody in Conroe is asked to make that trip. Every Conroe visit is a secure video visit, the same provider sees you each time, and prescriptions go electronically to the pharmacy you name, whether that is on West Davis Street or out on SH 105 near Lake Conroe.
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 most adults in Conroe, a non-stimulant started by video at the first visit is the practical route, and the prescriber will tell you at that visit whether it suits your case. Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book.
The first video visit takes about an hour and is with the prescriber. Bring a list of anything you take now and the name of your pharmacy. If therapy belongs in the plan, you can book the first counseling session before the call ends, and the counselor reads the same chart. Tell us at booking if you work a rotating schedule at the hospital or a plant, and we will place follow-ups on the days you are off or after you are home from the drive.
Learn how therapy and psychiatry work together when both are part of your care plan.
What the numbers say about Conroe
Conroe reports more diagnosed depression and more distress than The Woodlands next door, and more than Texas as a whole. CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) puts diagnosed depression among Conroe adults at 21.9%. The Woodlands, a few exits south on I-45, is 20.3%; Texas is 19.7% and the U.S. is 21.8%. Frequent mental distress, defined as 14 or more poor mental health days in a month, is 17.6% in Conroe against 13.7% in The Woodlands, 16.1% in Texas, and 15.4% nationally. The same release counts 68,496 adults in Conroe, which sits in Montgomery County. At 17.6%, that is roughly 12,000 adults having a bad month at any one time, and at 21.9% roughly 15,000 who have been told they have depression.
The gap between Conroe and The Woodlands is the useful number. The two cities share a county, the same hospital systems, and the same public mental health authority, and the county seat still carries four more points of distress.
| Measure | Conroe | The Woodlands | Texas | U.S. | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults diagnosed with depression | 21.9% | 20.3% | 19.7% | 21.8% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ bad days/month) | 17.6% | 13.7% | 16.1% | 15.4% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population, Conroe (Montgomery County) | 68,496 | 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 a psychiatrist cost in Conroe 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 |
Conroe brings a wider mix of cards than the suburbs south of it. Conroe ISD is the largest employer in the city, and its teachers and staff carry the district employee plan; read us the carrier on the card and we quote the copay before the visit. HCA Houston Healthcare Conroe staff and the clinics around it tend to have UnitedHealthcare or Aetna. Commuters to Houston employers bring BCBS TX and Cigna PPOs. Retirees around Lake Conroe and in the April Sound and Walden areas mostly bring Medicare, and we are in network with it. Ambetter marketplace plans are common in Conroe, and we take them. If you are between jobs or your employer offers no plan, the $250 evaluation and $150 follow-ups are flat prices, and an HSA or FSA card works.
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.
Your questions, answered
Frequently asked questions from Conroe patients
Can someone in Conroe get a psychiatrist appointment this week without driving to Houston?
Yes. Most new Conroe patients are seen within 1–2 business days by secure video, so there is no trip down I-45 to a Houston clinic and no waiting room. Book online at any hour. If a practice near HCA Houston Healthcare Conroe or in The Woodlands has quoted you a date weeks out, you can start here without a referral and keep that date if you want it.
Is there a Lyte office in Conroe or anywhere in Montgomery County?
No. Lyte's only clinic is in Pantego, inside Arlington, more than 200 miles north of Conroe on I-45, which is why we do not ask anyone in Montgomery County to come in. Every visit is by video, with the same provider each time, from your house off FM 1488 or a parked car in a lot on Loop 336, anywhere with a signal and a door that closes.
What will a Conroe patient pay with insurance, and what is the price without it?
With an in-network plan such as BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, or Cigna, most Conroe patients pay a $0–$30 copay per visit, and we confirm the exact figure before the first visit. Without insurance, the new-patient psychiatric evaluation is $250, a medication follow-up is $150, and a first therapy session is $150. Those are the same prices whether you live in Grand Central Park or out past Cut and Shoot.
I was told Tri-County Behavioral Healthcare has a wait. Should I keep that appointment or book here?
Both, if you can. Tri-County Behavioral Healthcare is the public mental health authority for Montgomery County and serves residents with no coverage first, so its intake is built for that group. If you have an in-network plan or can pay the $250 self-pay rate, a video visit here is usually available within 1–2 business days, and nothing about starting here cancels your place at Tri-County.
Can my Conroe ISD student see a child psychiatrist by video from our house?
Yes. Dr. Akintola is board-certified in child and adolescent psychiatry and sees students from Conroe High School, Caney Creek High School, Grand Oaks High School, and the other Conroe ISD campuses by video, usually within 1–2 business days. A parent joins the first visit. Letters for Conroe ISD counselors and 504 coordinators are written on request, and a counselor here can take on therapy for the same student in the same chart.
Does the stimulant rule mean a Conroe adult with ADHD has to go to Pantego?
Only for a 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. A non-stimulant can start by video from Conroe at the first visit, and since Pantego is more than 200 miles away, that is the route most adults in Montgomery County take. The prescriber will say at the first visit whether a non-stimulant fits.
I commute from Conroe to Spring or Houston every day. Can follow-ups happen outside the drive?
Yes. Tell us your commute at booking and follow-ups get placed before you leave in the morning or after you are back north of the Hardy Toll Road. A medication follow-up is a short video visit and does not need a full afternoon off. You need to be physically in Texas during the visit, which a Conroe-to-Houston commute never breaks.
Nearby areas we also serve
Explore care across Greater Houston & Gulf Coast or all Texas locations.
We also see patients from The Woodlands, Spring, Humble and Kingwood, Cypress, and Houston.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in Conroe
Tri-County Behavioral Healthcare is the public mental health authority for Montgomery County and serves residents without insurance first; it is the place to start if you have no coverage and cannot pay $250. Call or text 988 any time to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. If someone is in immediate danger, the emergency department at HCA Houston Healthcare Conroe, off I-45, is open around the clock. Students enrolled at Lone Star College-Montgomery can ask the campus counseling office about free sessions.
Book a video visit at book.lytepsych.com and we will verify your benefits before you are seen. To talk to a person first, call 469-733-0848.
Find the public mental health authority for your county through the Texas HHS local authority directory.