Yes. Lyte Psychiatry sees Odessa patients by secure video from a phone or laptop anywhere in Ector County. Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. With an in-network plan you usually pay a $0–$30 copay per visit. Without insurance, a new-patient psychiatric evaluation is a flat $250 and a medication follow-up is $150.
Which Odessa patients does this page help?
Odessa is the Ector County seat and the service-company side of the Permian Basin. The yards along I-20 and US-385 fill with trucks when oil prices climb and empty out when they drop, and the people who work them lose coverage on the same schedule. The first reader of this page is a hand who is between crews, or on a contract with a high deductible, and needs a prescription refilled or a first evaluation and wants the price before booking. That is why the fee table on this page sits ahead of the insurance list. A $250 evaluation is the price, whether you pay with a card or an HSA.
The second reader has a plan and cannot use it fast enough. That might be an Ector County ISD teacher on TRS-ActiveCare, a nurse at Medical Center Health System, or a student at UT Permian Basin or Odessa College. Those readers have been told the next opening is weeks out, or have been referred to PermiaCare, which is the public mental health authority for Ector County and serves people without insurance first. A private practice that takes your plan and has a slot this week is the shorter route.
Either way, you see the same prescriber every visit, and you do it from Odessa. Nobody expects you to drive to the Metroplex.
What can Lyte treat for Odessa patients?
Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for adults, teens, and children. Therapy with licensed professional counselors who use CBT, solution-focused, and trauma-focused methods. Combined care, where your prescriber and your therapist write in one chart, so you tell the story once. ADHD evaluation and treatment for adults and teens, with stimulant and non-stimulant options.
Conditions we treat include depression, anxiety, panic, social anxiety, PTSD and trauma, OCD, bipolar disorder, ADHD, insomnia and other sleep problems, postpartum and perinatal mood problems, grief, and stress and burnout. Dr. Akintola is a licensed Suboxone (buprenorphine) prescriber, and medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder is available to Odessa patients by video with a pharmacy pickup in town.
The mode is video only. There is no Lyte office in Odessa, and the Pantego clinic outside Arlington is a five-hour drive down I-20, so we will not pretend it is a reasonable trip. Every visit happens by secure video on your phone or laptop, from your kitchen or from a break room at Medical Center Hospital.
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 Odessa adults that means starting a non-stimulant over video, and revisiting a stimulant only if you make the drive once.
Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book. Prescriptions go to the Odessa pharmacy you choose, whether that is an H-E-B or a Walgreens in Odessa. Clinical letters for a school or employer are written on request.
Learn how therapy and psychiatry work together when both are part of your care plan.
What the numbers say about Odessa
Odessa and Midland sit 20 miles apart on I-20 and report almost the same rates of diagnosed depression, but Odessa reports more frequent distress. CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) puts diagnosed depression at 21.6% of Odessa adults, next to 21.9% in Midland. Frequent mental distress, meaning 14 or more poor mental health days in a month, is 18.0% in Odessa against 17.6% in Midland. With 83,935 adults in Odessa, which sits in Ector County, in the same release, the distress figure is about 15,000 people on any given month.
Supply is thin across West Texas. Texas DSHS reported that 162 Texas counties had no psychiatrist in 2025, and many of those counties are the ones that send patients to Odessa and Midland for care.
| Measure | Odessa | Midland | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adults diagnosed with depression | 21.6% | 21.9% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ bad days/month) | 18.0% | 17.6% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population | 83,935 | 96,467 | 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 Odessa without insurance?
The self-pay prices are flat. There is no facility fee and no separate bill later. HSA and FSA cards are accepted.
| 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 |
If you do have coverage, we are in network with 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.
In Odessa the cards we see most are BCBS TX through TRS-ActiveCare from Ector County ISD, the operator and service-company plans, which tend to be BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, or Aetna, and Ambetter marketplace plans bought during a stretch between jobs. Medical Center Health System staff should check which carrier administers the hospital plan and tell us at booking. Medicare covers our visits for older patients in Ector County. If you lose a job and the plan with it mid-treatment, the self-pay follow-up is $150 and your prescriber does not change.
Who will you see
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 and stayed on faculty there, and moved to Texas in 2012. Toyin Awe, PMHNP-BC, is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with 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 Odessa patients
Does Lyte Psychiatry have an office in Odessa or Midland?
No. Odessa is video only. Our one physical clinic is in Pantego, next to Arlington, about 330 miles east on I-20, and we do not ask Ector County patients to make that drive. You see the same prescriber every visit over secure video from home or work in Odessa.
How fast can I get a first psychiatry appointment in Ector County?
Most new Odessa patients are seen within 1–2 business days. You book online at any hour, we verify benefits before the visit, and the first video appointment covers the full evaluation and a prescription if one is needed, sent to your Odessa pharmacy. PermiaCare, the public authority for Ector County, serves uninsured residents first; if you have a plan or can pay $250, this is the quicker route.
What does a psychiatrist cost in Odessa if I have no insurance right now?
A new-patient psychiatric evaluation is $250, a medication follow-up is $150, and a first therapy session is $150, all flat, paid by card, HSA, or FSA. If you are an oilfield worker between crews, that is the whole price. If you later get a plan through a new employer, we switch you to your in-network copay, usually $0–$30 per visit, without changing your prescriber.
¿Puedo tener mi cita psiquiátrica en español desde Odessa?
Sí. Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book. Ector County is majority Hispanic, and we schedule Spanish-language video visits for Odessa patients on the same 1–2 business day timeline as English visits. Tell us your language preference in the booking form or when you call 469-733-0848.
I work rotations in the field outside Odessa. Can I keep appointments?
Yes, if you have a signal. Video visits work from a truck or a man camp as long as your phone has data, and you can move an appointment online when a rotation changes. Tell us your schedule at booking and we will set follow-ups on your days in town. If opioid pain pills became a problem out on the job, Dr. Akintola prescribes Suboxone by video and the pharmacy pickup is in Odessa.
My teenager is at an Ector County ISD school. Can you see them by video?
Yes. Dr. Akintola is board-certified in child and adolescent psychiatry, and we see Ector County ISD students by video with a parent present for the first visit. We write letters for a 504 plan or school accommodation on request. If your teen needs a stimulant for ADHD, that first evaluation has to happen in person at Pantego; non-stimulant options can start by video from Odessa.
Can I start ADHD medication by video from Odessa?
You can start a non-stimulant by video. 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. Many Odessa adults start with a non-stimulant and never make the trip; others drive to Pantego once and then continue by video.
Do I need a referral from Medical Center Health System or my Odessa doctor?
No. Book directly. If you have a primary care doctor at Medical Center Health System, ProCare, or a clinic in Odessa, we will send them a visit summary when you ask us to. If you are already on a PermiaCare waitlist, you can keep your place there and start with us in the meantime.
Nearby areas we also serve
Explore care across West Texas & the Panhandle or all Texas locations.
We also see patients by video in Midland, Big Spring, San Angelo, Lubbock, and Abilene.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in Odessa
PermiaCare is the public mental health authority for Ector County and serves residents without insurance or with limited coverage. Call or text 988 any time for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. For a medical emergency, Medical Center Hospital in Odessa has an emergency department. UT Permian Basin and Odessa College students can ask their campus counseling offices about no-cost sessions while they wait for a psychiatry appointment.
Book a video visit at book.lytepsych.com and we will verify your benefits or confirm the self-pay price 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.