Yes. Lyte Psychiatry sees San Angelo and Concho Valley patients by secure video, with no office visit and no drive. Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. Insured patients, including Tricare members from Goodfellow, usually pay a $0–$30 copay per visit; a self-pay psychiatric evaluation is $250. Lyte has no office in San Angelo.
Who in San Angelo should read this?
Start with the ranch family in Eldorado, Ozona, Sterling City, or Ballinger. Every specialist they have ever seen is in San Angelo, an hour or more each way on US-277 or US-87, and Shannon Medical Center is where the whole Concho Valley ends up for anything serious. For psychiatry, that family has been driving in and then waiting for an opening anyway. MHMR Services for the Concho Valley, the public mental health authority for Tom Green County and the counties around it, serves people without coverage first. A family with a BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, or Medicare card is usually seen faster by a private practice that takes the plan and does not need them to come to town.
Then there is Goodfellow Air Force Base. The 17th Training Wing runs intelligence schools and the Department of Defense fire academy, so a large share of the people on base are students on orders for a few months, many with a spouse and small kids who moved to San Angelo knowing no one. The 17th Medical Group is the on-base clinic, and a spouse or dependent who needs ongoing psychiatric care often ends up with a Tricare referral and a short list of local names.
The last reader is inside the city: a nurse or tech at Shannon on a rotating schedule, a teacher at Central High School or Lake View High School on a TRS-ActiveCare plan, or an Angelo State University student who ran out of counseling center sessions and needs someone who can prescribe.
What kind of care can San Angelo patients get by video?
Everything on this page is delivered by secure video. We have one clinic, in Pantego inside Arlington, about 250 miles northeast of San Angelo by US-67 through Brownwood and Stephenville. Nobody in Tom Green County should drive that for a psychiatry visit, and we do not ask you to. A phone or laptop and a private place to sit are enough, whether that is a ranch house outside Mertzon or base housing at Goodfellow. You must be physically in Texas during the visit. Your prescriber is the same person at every appointment.
Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for adults, teens, and children. Therapy with licensed professional counselors trained in CBT, solution-focused, and trauma-focused work. Combined care, where the prescriber and the therapist share one chart. ADHD evaluation and treatment for adults and teens.
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, and that treatment can run by video with pickup at a pharmacy in your county. We write clinical letters for school, work, and training commands on request.
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 San Angelo patient, that usually means a non-stimulant started at the first video visit, with the prescriber explaining what to expect over the first few weeks.
Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book. Prescriptions are sent electronically to the pharmacy you choose in San Angelo or in your home county.
What the numbers say about San Angelo
San Angelo and Abilene, the two mid-sized cities of West Central Texas, report nearly identical rates of diagnosed depression, and both sit well above Midland to the west. CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) puts diagnosed depression among San Angelo adults at 23.2%, next to 23.3% in Abilene and 21.9% in Midland; Texas as a whole is 19.7%. Frequent mental distress, 14 or more poor mental health days in a month, is 17.8% in San Angelo, a point below Abilene at 18.8% and slightly above Midland at 17.6%. The release counts 76,644 adults in San Angelo, which sits in Tom Green County. Applied to that base, 17.8% is about 13,600 adults, before counting the counties that rely on San Angelo for care.
| Measure | San Angelo | Abilene | Midland | Texas | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults diagnosed with depression | 23.2% | 23.3% | 21.9% | 19.7% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ bad days/month) | 17.8% | 18.8% | 17.6% | 16.1% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population (Tom Green County) | 76,644 | 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.
What does an online psychiatrist cost in San Angelo?
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 is a flat price with nothing added on, and HSA and FSA cards are accepted. The plans to expect most from San Angelo are BCBS TX through TRS-ActiveCare for San Angelo ISD employees and through the Texas A&M System plan at Angelo State, then Tricare from Goodfellow, then Medicare for retirees across the rural counties. Shannon staff should check which carrier is on the hospital plan and tell us at booking. Tricare Select members book directly. Active duty members on Tricare Prime, including students at the 17th Training Wing, need a referral from the 17th Medical Group before an off-base visit; Prime family members should send us a photo of the card so we can confirm with Humana Military, the Tricare East contractor, before the first appointment.
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+ 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 San Angelo patients
Is a video psychiatrist in San Angelo a real option, or do I still have to go to Shannon?
It is a real option. Lyte sees San Angelo patients by secure video, prescribes to any local pharmacy, and is in network with Tricare, BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, and Medicare. Shannon Medical Center remains the right place for an emergency or an inpatient stay; for an outpatient evaluation and ongoing medication, you can be seen here within 1–2 business days without a referral unless your plan requires one.
Where is the closest Lyte office to San Angelo?
Pantego, inside Arlington, about 250 miles northeast by US-67. That is our only clinic, and San Angelo is a video-only city for us: first visit and every follow-up happen by secure video. The single exception is the in-person first evaluation for a stimulant, and many San Angelo patients take the non-stimulant route by video instead.
How quickly can someone in Tom Green County get a first appointment?
Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days, and you can book online at any hour. That timeline is the same for a patient in San Angelo proper and for one in Sonora, Big Lake, or Eden, since nobody has to drive anywhere. Same-week is the normal case.
My spouse is a student at Goodfellow on Tricare Prime. Can the family see Lyte?
Yes, with one step for the active duty member. A student at the 17th Training Wing on Tricare Prime needs a referral from the 17th Medical Group before an off-base psychiatry visit. Spouses and children on Prime should send us a photo of the card so we can confirm with Humana Military whether their referral is on file. Anyone on Tricare Select books directly. Because training assignments are short, tell us your projected graduation date at the first visit so the plan fits the time you have in Texas.
What will I pay in San Angelo with insurance, and what if I have none?
In network, most San Angelo patients pay a $0–$30 copay per visit, and we confirm the exact amount before the first appointment. Without insurance, a psychiatric evaluation is $250, a medication follow-up is $150, a first therapy session is $150, and therapy follow-ups are $125. There is no charge for the video platform and no facility fee, and the rate is the same for a Shannon employee and for a rancher in Irion County.
Can an Angelo State student keep seeing you after the semester ends?
Yes, if the student stays in Texas. An ASU student who goes home to San Antonio or Lubbock for the summer keeps the same prescriber by video. A student who leaves the state has to pause until they are back, and we will send a summary to a provider where they are. Students 18 and older book and consent for themselves; a parent in another Texas city can book on behalf of a student under 18.
Do you offer visits in Spanish for San Angelo families?
Yes. Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book and we will set the visit up in Spanish. That applies to the first psychiatric evaluation and to follow-ups, and it covers families in San Angelo and across the Concho Valley counties.
Nearby areas we also serve
Explore care across West Texas & the Panhandle or all Texas locations.
Concho Valley and Permian-edge patients can also use our pages for Abilene, Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, and Lubbock.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in San Angelo
MHMR Services for the Concho Valley is the public mental health authority for Tom Green County and the surrounding counties, and it is the place to start if you have no insurance and cannot pay the self-pay rate. Call or text 988 any time for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline; service members and veterans can press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line. Military OneSource at 1-800-342-9647 offers free, confidential short-term counseling for active duty members and their families, and the 17th Medical Group at Goodfellow is the on-base starting point for a Tricare Prime referral. Angelo State students can use the university's counseling services on campus while they wait for or alongside psychiatric care.
Book a video visit at book.lytepsych.com; we verify Tricare, BCBS TX, or any other in-network plan before you are seen. You can also call 469-733-0848.
Find the public mental health authority for your county through the Texas HHS local authority directory.