Yes. Lyte Psychiatry sees Abilene patients by secure video from anywhere in Taylor County and the surrounding Big Country counties. Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. Insured patients, including Tricare families from Dyess, usually pay a $0–$30 copay per visit; a self-pay psychiatric evaluation is $250. There is no Lyte office in Abilene.
Who is this Abilene page for?
Turn off Arnold Blvd toward the Dyess main gate at 7 a.m. and you are in a line of cars from the 7th Bomb Wing and the 317th Airlift Wing. The B-1 and C-130J crews on this base deploy often and leave spouses at home in Wylie ISD or Abilene ISD neighborhoods managing a house and kids through it. The 7th Medical Group handles what it can on base. A spouse with a teenager who has stopped sleeping, or a spouse who has been running on anxiety since the last rotation, often gets told to look downtown, where Hendrick Health and a short list of private psychiatrists take new patients. If the next opening you were quoted is weeks out, this page is for you.
The second reader lives outside the city. Anson, Baird, Clyde, Merkel, Sweetwater, Coleman, Albany: each is a 15 to 55 mile drive into Abilene for anything a family doctor cannot handle, and none of them has a psychiatrist of its own. The Betty Hardwick Center, the public mental health authority for Taylor, Callahan, Jones, Shackelford, and Stephens counties, is the right first call for a Big Country patient without insurance. If you have BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, or Medicare, you are usually faster at a private practice that takes the card and does not ask you to drive in.
The third reader is a student at Abilene Christian University, Hardin-Simmons, or McMurry who used up the campus counseling sessions and needs a prescriber, or a parent in Dallas or Houston booking for that student.
What can Lyte treat for Abilene patients?
For Abilene the mode is video only. Our single clinic is in Pantego, inside Arlington, roughly 165 miles east on I-20. That is not a reasonable drive for a follow-up, and we do not ask Big Country patients to make it. You take every visit by secure video from home, a dorm room, or a parked car on base, as long as you are physically in Texas and can talk privately. The same prescriber sees you every time.
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 your prescriber and your therapist write in one shared chart, so a Dyess spouse does not have to repeat a deployment history twice. 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. We write clinical letters for school and work 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 most Abilene adults and teens, the practical route is a non-stimulant started by video this week, and the prescriber will walk through the trade-offs with you.
Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book. Prescriptions go electronically to whichever pharmacy you name, whether that is a United Supermarkets pharmacy on Buffalo Gap Rd or a Walgreens on the Winters Freeway. If you and the prescriber decide therapy would help, we book the first counselor visit with one of our LPCs.
Learn how therapy and psychiatry work together when both are part of your care plan.
What the numbers say about Abilene
Abilene reports more diagnosed depression than Lubbock, the next city of size to the north, and more than San Angelo to the south. CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) puts diagnosed depression among Abilene adults at 23.3%, against 22.7% in Lubbock, 23.2% in San Angelo, and 19.7% for Texas. Frequent mental distress, meaning 14 or more poor mental health days in a month, is 18.8% in Abilene, above Lubbock at 18.5% and San Angelo at 17.8%. The same release counts 96,412 adults in Abilene, labeled Taylor County. At 18.8%, that is roughly 18,100 adults in frequent distress, in a city that also serves the surrounding Big Country counties.
| Measure | Abilene | Lubbock | San Angelo | Texas | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults diagnosed with depression | 23.3% | 22.7% | 23.2% | 19.7% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ bad days/month) | 18.8% | 18.5% | 17.8% | 16.1% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population (Taylor County) | 96,412 | 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 Abilene with Tricare or other 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 |
Tricare is the card to expect most often in Abilene because of Dyess. Tricare Select members can book directly. Active duty members on Tricare Prime need a referral through the 7th Medical Group before an off-base visit, and Prime spouses and children should send us a photo of the card so we can check with Humana Military, the Tricare East contractor, whether a referral is on file. After Tricare, the usual plans are BCBS TX through TRS-ActiveCare for Abilene ISD and Wylie ISD staff, the group plans at Hendrick Health and the three universities, and Medicare for retirees who settled near the base or along Buffalo Gap Rd. Self-pay is a flat rate with no facility fee, and HSA and FSA cards are accepted.
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.
Your questions, answered
Frequently asked questions from Abilene patients
Can a Dyess family get a psychiatrist online in Abilene without waiting on Hendrick?
Yes. Lyte sees Abilene patients by secure video, in network with Tricare and the major commercial plans, and most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. You can keep your name on a Hendrick Health waitlist and start here in the meantime; nothing about booking with us cancels a referral you already have.
Is there a Lyte office in Abilene, or do I have to drive to Dallas?
Neither. Our only clinic is at 2900 W Park Row Dr in Pantego, inside Arlington, about 165 miles east of Abilene on I-20. Abilene is video-only for us, first visit and every follow-up. The one exception is the in-person first evaluation for a stimulant, described in the ADHD policy above, and many Abilene patients choose a non-stimulant by video instead.
My spouse is active duty at Dyess. Does Tricare Prime need a referral before we book?
For the active duty member, yes: the 7th Medical Group has to issue a referral before an off-base psychiatry visit. For a spouse or child on Tricare Prime, send us a photo of the card and we will confirm with Humana Military whether a referral is needed before you are seen. Tricare Select members book directly with no referral. Either way you know the copay before the first video visit.
I live in Sweetwater or Coleman, not Abilene. Can Lyte still see me?
Yes. Video visits work anywhere in Texas, so a patient in Nolan, Coleman, Jones, Callahan, or Shackelford County is seen the same way and on the same timeline as someone in Abilene. You need a phone or laptop, a private place to sit, and a cell or broadband signal that holds a video call. If your signal is unreliable at the house, a parked car in Sweetwater or Baird works fine.
How much does a psychiatrist cost in Abilene with Tricare, BCBS TX, or no insurance?
With an in-network plan, including Tricare, BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, and Aetna, most Abilene patients pay a $0–$30 copay per visit. Without insurance, a new-patient psychiatric evaluation is $250, a medication follow-up is $150, a first therapy session is $150, and therapy follow-ups are $125. Those are flat rates, the same for a Dyess spouse, an ACU student, and a rancher in Callahan County.
Can an Abilene Christian University or Hardin-Simmons student see you between semesters?
Yes, as long as the student is in Texas at the time of the visit. A student who goes home to Fort Worth or Houston for the summer keeps the same prescriber by video. A student who spends the summer out of state has to pause until they are back in Texas, and we will send records to a provider there if needed. A parent can book the first visit for a student under 18; at 18 and over, the student books and signs their own consent.
We are PCSing out of Dyess next year. What happens to my care?
If the move is inside Texas, nothing changes; a transfer to Sheppard, Goodfellow, or Fort Cavazos keeps you with the same prescriber by video. If the move is out of state, care here ends on the day you leave, and we send your records and a medication summary to your next base clinic or civilian provider so the new prescriber does not start from zero.
Nearby areas we also serve
Explore care across West Texas & the Panhandle or all Texas locations.
Big Country patients can also use our pages for San Angelo, Big Spring, Wichita Falls, Lubbock, and Midland.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in Abilene
The Betty Hardwick Center is the public mental health authority for Taylor County and four neighboring counties, and it is the first call 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. The 7th Medical Group at Dyess is the on-base starting point for a Tricare Prime referral.
Book a video visit at book.lytepsych.com and we will verify your Tricare or commercial 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.