Yes. Lyte Psychiatry sees Del Rio patients by secure video from anywhere in Val Verde County, including Laughlin Air Force Base housing, and we are in network with Tricare. Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. Insured patients usually pay a $0–$30 copay per visit; a self-pay psychiatric evaluation is $250. There is no Lyte office in Del Rio.
Who this Del Rio page is written for
Val Verde Regional Medical Center is the only hospital in Val Verde County, and the nurses and techs who staff it know better than anyone how thin specialty care is in Del Rio. A charge nurse there who has watched a coworker white-knuckle through a year of panic attacks because the nearest psychiatrist she could find who takes her plan is in San Antonio, 155 miles east on US-90, is the first reader here. She has insurance through the hospital and she has never used it for this, because there was nowhere in town to use it.
The second reader lives on or near Laughlin Air Force Base, where the 47th Flying Training Wing runs undergraduate pilot training. Student pilots arrive for a year, instructors and support airmen for two or three, and their spouses and children land in San Felipe Del Rio CISD schools with Tricare and a referral that points to a San Antonio practice with a waitlist. A spouse who has gone through a PCS, a deployment, and a newborn in the space of eighteen months, and who is now up at 3 a.m. with something heavier than tiredness, should not have to leave the county to talk to a prescriber.
The third reader is a Border Patrol agent or a family in the older neighborhoods near the San Felipe Creek who cross to Ciudad Acuña on weekends, are comfortable in either language, and want a psychiatrist who will take a federal or Aetna card without a two-day trip. Camino Real Community Services, the public mental health authority for Val Verde County, serves residents without coverage first. Everyone above has coverage, and this page is for them.
What can Lyte treat for a Del Rio patient?
Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for adults, teens, and children. Dr. Akintola is board-certified in child and adolescent psychiatry, which matters in a town where a child's referral has usually meant San Antonio. Therapy with licensed professional counselors using CBT, solution-focused, and trauma-focused work. Combined care, meaning your prescriber and your therapist share one chart, so a Laughlin spouse seeing both does not repeat her history twice. ADHD evaluation and treatment for adults and teens, with stimulant and non-stimulant options.
Conditions: 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. Clinical letters for school, work, or command are written on request.
Del Rio is served by video only. Our single clinic is in Pantego, inside Arlington, roughly 400 miles northeast by way of US-90 and I-35, and we are not going to suggest that anyone in Val Verde County drive it. You take the visit from home or from base housing, as long as you are in Texas at the time. The same provider sees you at every visit.
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 Del Rio teen or adult, that usually means starting a non-stimulant by video this week and revisiting the question with the prescriber once the pattern is clear.
Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book. Prescriptions are sent electronically to your pharmacy, whether that is the H-E-B on Veterans Blvd or the Laughlin pharmacy if you are eligible to fill there. When a first visit ends with a plan that includes therapy, the counselor's first session is booked before you sign off.
Learn how therapy and psychiatry work together when both are part of your care plan.
What the numbers say about Del Rio
Roughly 4,200 adults in Del Rio report frequent mental distress, based on the CDC's 2023 survey, and few of them can see a psychiatrist without leaving Val Verde County. CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) counts 25,433 adults in Del Rio, labeled Val Verde County, and puts frequent mental distress, meaning 14 or more poor mental health days in a month, at 16.7%. Diagnosed depression among Del Rio adults is 19.2% in the same release.
Eagle Pass, 56 miles south on US-277, is the closest town of similar size and a fair yardstick. Eagle Pass adults sit at 18.9% for diagnosed depression and 16.6% for frequent distress, a hair below Del Rio on both. Texas as a whole is 19.7% and 16.1%. Del Rio is above the state on distress and below it on diagnosis, which is the pattern you get where people are struggling and nobody is around to write the diagnosis down. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported in 2025 that 162 of the state's 254 counties had no psychiatrist.
| Measure | Del Rio | Eagle Pass | Texas | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults diagnosed with depression | 19.2% | 18.9% | 19.7% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ bad days/month) | 16.7% | 16.6% | 16.1% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population (Val Verde County) | 25,433 | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 | ||
| Texas counties with no psychiatrist | 162 | Texas DSHS, 2025 |
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.
Does Lyte take Tricare in Del Rio, and how much is a visit?
Yes. 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 |
Because of Laughlin, Tricare is the card we expect most from Del Rio. Active duty members on Tricare Prime need a referral from the 47th Medical Group before an off-base specialty visit; Tricare Select members and most Prime family members can book directly, and we confirm with the Tricare regional contractor before the first visit so there is no surprise bill. Beyond the base, San Felipe Del Rio CISD employees carry TRS-ActiveCare through BCBS TX, Val Verde Regional Medical Center staff carry the hospital's group plan, and Border Patrol agents in the Del Rio Sector carry federal employee plans; send a photo of the card and we will tell you the copay before you are seen. Medicare covers our visits for retirees who stayed in Del Rio after Laughlin. Self-pay is a flat price, 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 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 Del Rio patients
Can a Laughlin family see a psychiatrist by video without a referral to San Antonio?
Usually yes. Tricare Select members and most Tricare Prime family members can book with us directly, and we verify with the Tricare regional contractor before the visit. Active duty airmen on Prime need a referral through the 47th Medical Group first, and aircrew usually check with flight medicine first, since mental health care can affect flying status. A spouse or child in Laughlin housing can be seen by video within 1–2 business days.
Where is the closest Lyte office to Del Rio?
There is not one within reasonable reach. Our only clinic is at 2900 W Park Row Dr in Pantego, inside Arlington, roughly 400 miles from Del Rio. We see every Del Rio patient by secure video, and the same is true for Eagle Pass, Uvalde, and Brackettville. A first stimulant evaluation for ADHD is the one visit that has to happen in Pantego under our policy, so most Val Verde County patients who need ADHD treatment start a non-stimulant by video.
How long is the wait for a first visit from Del Rio?
Most new Del Rio patients are seen within 1–2 business days. Booking is online at any hour. That compares with a drive of 155 miles each way on US-90 to reach a San Antonio practice, plus whatever waitlist that practice has. Val Verde Regional Medical Center staff who work 12-hour shifts can tell us their rotation when they book and we will fit the slot around it.
What does a psychiatry visit cost in Del Rio with Tricare, with BCBS, or with no insurance?
With Tricare, TRS-ActiveCare through BCBS TX, Aetna, or another in-network plan, most patients pay a $0–$30 copay per visit, and we confirm the exact figure before you are seen. Without insurance, a new-patient evaluation is $250, a medication follow-up is $150, and a first therapy session is $150. For a family that would otherwise lose a workday and a tank of gas driving to San Antonio, the self-pay price is often less than the trip.
My child is at Del Rio High School and the counselor suggested an evaluation. Can that happen by video?
Yes. Dr. Akintola is board-certified in child and adolescent psychiatry and evaluates San Felipe Del Rio CISD students by video with a parent present. The school's notes and any prior testing are useful, so bring them to the first visit. We write letters to the school on request when a diagnosis changes what a student needs in the classroom. A Laughlin child covered by Tricare can be seen the same way.
¿Atienden a pacientes de Del Rio en español?
Sí. Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book. Tell us at booking that you want the visit in Spanish and we will schedule it that way. Val Verde County is majority Hispanic, and many Del Rio families switch between English and Spanish at home; the prescriber will follow you in whichever language makes it easier to say what is wrong.
We are PCSing out of Laughlin in a few months. Can we start care now?
Yes. A visit now means you leave with a diagnosis and an adjusted medication on a chart that can be sent to the provider at your next base. We can see you until the day you leave Texas. Once you are outside the state, we cannot continue video visits, because our providers are licensed in Texas only, so we will write a transfer summary for your next clinic.
Nearby areas we also serve
Explore care across San Antonio & South Texas or all Texas locations.
We also see patients by video in Eagle Pass, San Angelo, San Antonio, and Laredo, and from anywhere in Val Verde County, including Comstock and the Amistad lake communities.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in Del Rio
Camino Real Community Services is the public mental health authority for Val Verde County and is the first call for residents without insurance. Call or text 988 any time to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, in English or Spanish. Val Verde Regional Medical Center has the emergency department for a crisis that cannot wait. Laughlin families can also reach the 47th Medical Group's mental health clinic and Military OneSource for confidential non-medical counseling.
Book a video visit at book.lytepsych.com and we will verify Tricare or your commercial plan 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.