Yes. Lyte Psychiatry sees Corpus Christi patients by secure video from Flour Bluff, Calallen, Padre Island, or anywhere in Nueces County. 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 with no membership fee.
Who is this Corpus Christi page for?
Start at the gate of NAS Corpus Christi in Flour Bluff. A spouse whose sailor is on a training rotation, or a civilian mechanic at the Corpus Christi Army Depot on the same base, has Tricare and a specialty referral that has gone nowhere. Care on base is for the service member first, and the off-base Tricare list in Nueces County can be short. That family is the first reader we wrote this for.
The second is a parent on the Southside whose child's counselor at a Corpus Christi ISD campus said the words "child psychiatrist" and then said "the wait is long." Corpus Christi is the referral city for the whole Coastal Bend, so the few child psychiatry clinics here carry demand from Kingsville to Rockport, and a Corpus Christi ISD or Flour Bluff ISD student can sit in that queue for months.
The third works a 12-hour rotation on Refinery Row along I-37 at Flint Hills Resources, Valero, or Citgo, and cannot make a 2 p.m. appointment across town. Add the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi student on Ward Island who has used up the counseling center's sessions, the Del Mar College instructor on a BCBS TX plan, and the nurse at CHRISTUS Spohn Shoreline who does not want to be seen in her own hospital's clinic. The Behavioral Health Center of Nueces County, the county's public mental health authority, serves people without coverage first. If you have a plan or can pay $250, video care from us is usually faster than any of those lines.
What can Lyte treat for Corpus Christi patients?
Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for adults, teens, and children. Dr. Akintola is board-certified in child and adolescent psychiatry, which matters here because the child psychiatry wait in the Coastal Bend is the reason many Corpus Christi parents call us. Therapy is with licensed professional counselors, using CBT, solution-focused, and trauma-focused approaches. Combined care means your prescriber and your therapist share one chart.
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. ADHD evaluation and treatment for adults and teens includes stimulant and non-stimulant options. Dr. Akintola is a licensed Suboxone prescriber for opioid use disorder, and that treatment can be handled by video for a refinery or base worker who cannot take days off. We write clinical letters for school, work, and clearance on request.
Mode is video only. There is no Lyte office in Corpus Christi, and our clinic in Pantego is about 380 miles up I-37 and I-35. Nobody should make that drive for a routine visit. You log in from home or from base housing, and you see the same provider every visit. Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book.
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 Corpus Christi patients the practical route is to start a non-stimulant by video this week, then decide with your prescriber whether a stimulant is worth one trip north.
Shift work is normal here. Tell us your rotation when you book and we will match a slot to your days off. Prescriptions go electronically to your H-E-B or Walgreens pharmacy on the Southside, in Calallen, or on Padre Island.
Learn how therapy and psychiatry work together when both are part of your care plan.
What the numbers say about Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi adults report slightly less depression and slightly less frequent distress than adults in Victoria County to the northeast, and both cities sit above the Texas average. CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) puts diagnosed depression among Corpus Christi adults at 20.4%, against 19.7% statewide. Frequent mental distress, meaning 14 or more poor mental health days in a month, is 16.8% in Corpus Christi and 16.1% across Texas. With 243,246 adults in Corpus Christi, which sits in Nueces County, in the same release, the distress figure alone comes to roughly 40,900 people. For scale, Victoria to the northeast records 21.6% depression and 17.9% distress on the same survey, so the Coastal Bend as a whole runs above the state line.
| Measure | Corpus Christi | Texas | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adults diagnosed with depression | 20.4% | 19.7% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ bad days/month) | 16.8% | 16.1% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population, Corpus Christi (Nueces County) | 243,246 | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
Supply is short as well. Texas DSHS reported that 162 Texas counties had no psychiatrist in 2025. Nueces County has psychiatrists, and it is also the referral center for a ring of rural counties that have none, so the psychiatrists who practice here also carry demand from San Patricio, Kleberg, and Jim Wells counties.
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 Corpus Christi 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 |
Self-pay prices are flat, and HSA and FSA cards work. The cards we see most from Corpus Christi are Tricare from NAS Corpus Christi and the Army Depot, BCBS TX from the refineries and from TRS-ActiveCare for Corpus Christi ISD and Del Mar College staff, and UnitedHealthcare or Aetna from CHRISTUS Spohn and Corpus Christi Medical Center employees. Medicare covers our visits for retirees along Ocean Drive and in Portland. If you carry a Humana Medicare Advantage card, we take that too. Tell us the plan when you book and we will tell you the copay before you are seen.
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 more than 12 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 Corpus Christi patients
Is online psychiatry available in Corpus Christi, TX?
Yes, and for Corpus Christi it is the whole offer. Lyte sees patients across Nueces County by secure video, from Flour Bluff to Calallen, with the same prescriber at every visit. You need a phone or laptop with a camera and a private place to sit. No referral is required for commercial plans or self-pay.
Where is the nearest Lyte office to Corpus Christi?
There is none nearby. Our only office is in Pantego, next to Arlington in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, roughly 380 miles from downtown Corpus Christi by I-37 and I-35. We treat Corpus Christi as a video-only city. The single exception is a stimulant start for ADHD, which by our policy needs one in-person visit in Pantego.
How fast can a Corpus Christi patient be seen?
Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. Book online at any hour and pick a slot that fits a refinery rotation or a duty schedule at NAS Corpus Christi. Same-week is normal, and you can keep your place on a CHRISTUS Spohn waitlist while care starts here.
What does a psychiatrist cost in Corpus Christi with Tricare, BCBS TX, or cash?
With an in-network plan such as Tricare, BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, or Cigna, most patients pay a $0–$30 copay per visit. Without insurance, a new-patient psychiatric evaluation is $250, a medication follow-up is $150, and a first therapy session is $150. A QbCheck ADHD test is $150. That is a flat cash rate with no facility fee added, and HSA and FSA cards work.
Does Lyte take Tricare for families at NAS Corpus Christi?
Yes, Tricare is in network. Family members on Tricare Prime can usually see a network mental health provider without a referral; active duty service members need a referral from their primary care manager at the Naval Health Clinic on base before an off-base visit. Tricare Select does not require a referral. Tell us which Tricare plan is on your card and we will confirm what is needed before the first visit. Civilian employees at the Corpus Christi Army Depot on a federal plan should tell us their plan the same way.
My child's school counselor at Corpus Christi ISD recommended a child psychiatrist. Can Lyte see them?
Yes. Dr. Akintola is board-certified in child and adolescent psychiatry and sees children and teens by video, typically within 1–2 business days. A parent joins the first visit. You can keep your place in any hospital queue while care starts here, and we write letters for a Corpus Christi ISD or Flour Bluff ISD campus on request.
Are video visits available in Spanish for Corpus Christi patients?
Yes. Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book. Nueces County is majority Hispanic, and a parent in Robstown or Alice can join the call and speak with the clinician in Spanish while the patient answers in either language.
Can I start ADHD medication by video from Corpus Christi?
A non-stimulant, yes, this week. 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. For a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi student that means one trip to Dallas-Fort Worth, perhaps timed with a holiday break, and every visit after that from the island.
Nearby areas we also serve
Explore care across San Antonio & South Texas or all Texas locations.
We also see patients by video from Kingsville, Victoria, and San Antonio, and from Portland, Robstown, Rockport, and Alice through this Corpus Christi page.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in Corpus Christi
The Behavioral Health Center of Nueces County is the public mental health authority for Nueces County and serves residents without insurance. Call or text 988 any time for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. CHRISTUS Spohn Health runs inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services for South Texas, and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi students can use the University Counseling Center on Ward Island at no charge. Active duty families can also reach Military OneSource for short-term counseling that does not use Tricare.
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.