Yes. Lyte Psychiatry sees Midland patients by secure video, and we schedule around two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off rotations. Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days, and a spouse can book for a partner who is still out on location. Insured patients usually pay a $0–$30 copay per visit; a self-pay psychiatric evaluation is $250.
Who is this Midland page for?
It is day nine of a fourteen-day hitch and the truck is parked at a pad off SH-158 south of town. The spouse at home in Grasslands or off Loop 250 is the one reading this, because the person who needs the appointment has not slept a full night since the last rotation and will not call a psychiatrist himself. She wants to book something that lands in the off-week, with a provider who will not need him to drive anywhere, and she wants to know whether the company plan pays for it. She is the first reader we wrote this page for.
The second is the worker himself, home on the off-week, who tried Midland Memorial Hospital's referral line and PermiaCare, the public mental health authority for Midland County, and found that one has a wait and the other is built for people without insurance. The Permian's boom-and-bust cycle is a mental-health cycle: two-weeks-on schedules, oilfield money stacked next to oilfield layoffs, and a long local tradition of not talking about any of it. Our Midland patients are often first-timers in their thirties and forties who finally booked when the sleep stopped.
The third is a Midland ISD teacher or a Midland College instructor who works nowhere near a rig and is competing for the same short list of local prescribers. Whichever one you are, if you carry a plan we take or can pay $250, we can see you this week by video.
What can Lyte treat for Midland patients?
Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for adults, teens, and children. Therapy with licensed professional counselors, using CBT, solution-focused, and trauma-focused work. Combined care, where the prescriber and the counselor keep one chart. ADHD evaluation and treatment for adults and teens.
Conditions: depression, anxiety, panic, social anxiety, PTSD and trauma, OCD, bipolar disorder, ADHD, insomnia, postpartum and perinatal mood problems, grief, and stress and burnout. Insomnia is often the symptom that finally gets a Midland patient to book, and it is usually a sign of something else we can treat. Dr. Akintola is a licensed Suboxone prescriber and offers medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder by video, which matters in a region where a back injury on the job can turn into a pain-pill problem. We write clinical letters for work, including return-to-work and fitness letters, on request.
Mode for Midland: video only, and no drive. Lyte has no office in Midland or Odessa. Our single clinic sits in Pantego, inside Arlington, about 300 miles east on I-20, which would mean a hotel night for a single appointment. Every Midland visit is by secure video with the same provider each time, and a prescription is sent electronically to the pharmacy you choose, whether that is a chain store on Wadley Avenue or a pharmacy in Stanton.
Telehealth built for hitch schedules: we can alternate visit times week-on and week-off. Tell us your rotation when you book and we will put follow-ups on the off-weeks. If a follow-up has to happen from a man camp or a crew house, that works as long as you have a signal and a door that closes.
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. A Midland patient who cannot get to Dallas–Fort Worth can start a non-stimulant this week and stay on it, or revisit the stimulant question during a trip east. Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book.
Learn how therapy and psychiatry work together when both are part of your care plan.
What the numbers say about Midland
Midland County sits between Texas and its nearest big neighbor on both measures. CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) reports 21.9% of Midland County adults diagnosed with depression, above the Texas rate of 19.7% and a shade under Lubbock County's 22.7%. Frequent mental distress, meaning 14 or more poor mental health days in the past month, is 17.6% in Midland County, compared with 16.1% for Texas and 18.5% in Lubbock County. Midland County has 96,467 adults in the same release, so the depression figure works out to roughly 21,000 people and the distress figure to about 17,000.
The same release does not measure who is on a rotation, which is the part of Midland's picture that shows up in our schedule rather than in a survey.
| Measure | Midland County | Lubbock County | Texas | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults diagnosed with depression | 21.9% | 22.7% | 19.7% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ poor days/month) | 17.6% | 18.5% | 16.1% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population | 96,467 | 198,077 | 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 Midland 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 |
Midland plans come in two kinds. The operators and the larger service companies mostly self-fund and run their benefits through BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, or Cigna, so the name on your card is one we take even if the plan is your employer's own. Smaller contractors and owner-operators often have no group plan at all, and for them the self-pay column above is the whole price, payable with an HSA or FSA card. Midland ISD staff are usually on TRS-ActiveCare, a BCBS TX plan, and Midland Memorial employees should send us a photo of their card so we can confirm the copay. If you were laid off between rigs and lost coverage, you can pay $250 for the evaluation and $150 for follow-ups until the next plan starts, and we do not need to know anything about your employment to see you.
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 Midland patients
Can I get a video psychiatry appointment in Midland this week without waiting for my off-week?
Yes, if you can find some privacy and a signal where you are working. Most new Midland patients are seen within 1–2 business days by secure video. If you are on location at a site off SH-158 or up toward Andrews, you can take the first visit from the truck, and we will move the follow-ups to your off-weeks after that.
Does Lyte have an office in Midland or Odessa?
No. Our only clinic is in Pantego, next to Arlington, about 300 miles east of Midland on I-20. We do not expect a Midland patient to make that drive, so every visit here is by video. The one thing that requires the Pantego office is a first stimulant evaluation for ADHD; for a Midland patient who is not going east, we start a non-stimulant by video instead.
My husband is on a 14-day hitch. Can I book the appointment for him?
You can book the time and fill in the intake, and he needs to be the one on camera for the visit itself. Give us his rotation dates when you book and we will put the first visit on the day he gets home, or on a night on location if he has a private place to sit. After that, follow-ups land on the off-weeks so he is not trying to take a video call from a pad south of Midland.
What will a Midland visit cost on a company plan, and what if I am between jobs?
On an in-network plan, which includes most operator and service-company benefits run through BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, or Cigna, most patients pay a $0–$30 copay per visit. If you are between rigs and lost the plan, a new-patient evaluation is $250, a follow-up is $150, and a first therapy session is $150, flat, with an HSA or FSA card accepted. We verify the plan before the first visit so the price is not a surprise.
Should I go to PermiaCare or Midland Memorial first?
PermiaCare is the public mental health authority for Midland County and serves people without insurance or with very low income first, so an insured oilfield worker usually does not qualify for its priority tracks. Midland Memorial Hospital's emergency department is the right place if you or someone with you is in immediate danger; it is not set up for a routine medication start. For an insured or self-pay patient who needs a prescriber this week and is not in crisis, we are the faster route.
Can you treat a pain-pill or opioid problem in Midland by video?
Yes. Dr. Akintola is a licensed Suboxone prescriber and can start medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder by video, with the prescription sent to a Midland pharmacy. These cases often start with an injury on the job and a prescription that outlasted the injury. The visit is confidential like any other medical visit, and treatment fits around a rotation the same way any other follow-up does.
I live in Stanton, Andrews, or Big Spring. Is this Midland page for me?
Yes. Stanton is about 20 miles east on I-20, Andrews about 35 miles northwest on SH-191 and US-385, and Big Spring about 40 miles east on I-20, and none of those distances matter for a video visit. Give us the pharmacy in your own town when you book. Big Spring also has its own page if you want the local resources listed there.
Nearby areas we also serve
For another community in this region, see care in El Paso.
Explore care across West Texas & the Panhandle or all Texas locations.
We also see patients from Odessa, Big Spring, Lubbock, San Angelo, and Abilene, and from any Permian Basin town with a connection.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in Midland
PermiaCare is the public mental health authority for Midland County and serves residents without insurance. Call or text 988 at any hour for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Midland Memorial Hospital's emergency department handles psychiatric emergencies around the clock. If you are in Big Spring, the West Texas VA Health Care System there serves veterans from across the Permian.
Book a video visit at book.lytepsych.com, tell us your rotation, 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.