Yes. Lyte Psychiatry sees Longview and Gregg County patients by secure video, including around a plant shift or a hospital rotation. Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. In-network patients usually pay a $0–$30 copay per visit, and a self-pay psychiatric evaluation is $250, with the full price list posted below.
Who in Gregg County is this Longview page for?
Eastman Chemical's Texas Operations south of Longview runs around the clock, and a rotating shift there does not leave a weekday morning free to sit in a waiting room off Loop 281. We wrote this page for that worker, or for the spouse who does the scheduling for the household. The same problem applies to a nurse at CHRISTUS Good Shepherd on Marshall Avenue or at Longview Regional Medical Center, who spends twelve hours caring for other people and cannot take a half day to see a prescriber.
It also fits a Longview ISD, Pine Tree ISD, or Hallsville ISD parent whose teenager has been struggling since the school year started and who has been told the nearest child psychiatrist with an opening is in Tyler or Dallas. A LeTourneau University student on a parent's plan has the same problem, and so does a retiree on Medicare in a Gregg County neighborhood who has stopped sleeping and does not want to wait until winter to talk to someone.
Community Healthcore is the public mental health authority for Gregg County. It serves residents without coverage first, and it does that job for nine East Texas counties. If you carry an Eastman, hospital, school district, or Medicare plan, a private practice that bills it will usually get you seen sooner.
What can Lyte treat by video for Longview patients?
All Longview care is by secure video. There is no Lyte office in Longview, and our clinic in Pantego, beside Arlington, is about 145 miles west on I-20, which is too far to ask a Gregg County patient to drive for a psychiatry visit. You keep the same prescriber every time, and a visit can happen from a parked car at the plant gate or a LeTourneau dorm on Mobberly Avenue. Tell us your shift pattern when you book and we will place the follow-ups where your days off fall.
We provide psychiatric evaluation and medication management for adults, teens, and children. Dr. Akintola is board-certified in child and adolescent psychiatry, so a Longview ISD student sees a specialist in that age group. Licensed professional counselors provide therapy using CBT, solution-focused, and trauma-focused methods. Combined care means your counselor and your prescriber write in the same chart. ADHD evaluation and treatment is available for adults and teens.
Conditions treated: depression, anxiety, panic, social anxiety, PTSD and trauma, OCD, bipolar disorder, ADHD, insomnia and sleep problems, postpartum and perinatal mood problems, grief, and stress and burnout. Dr. Akintola is a licensed Suboxone (buprenorphine) prescriber for opioid use disorder, and that treatment runs by video with pickups at your Longview pharmacy. We write letters for schools, employers, and fitness-for-duty reviews 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. Because Pantego is a five-hour round trip from Longview, we offer the non-stimulant route by video first and only schedule the in-person visit if you and your prescriber decide a stimulant is needed. 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 Longview
Longview reports the higher rates of the two cities that anchor East Texas. CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) puts diagnosed depression at 23.7% of Longview adults, against 23.1% in Tyler, and frequent mental distress, defined as 14 or more poor mental health days in a month, at 19.2% in Longview against 18.2% in Tyler. Longview (Gregg County) has 61,908 adults in that release. Applied to that base, the distress rate is roughly 11,900 people in the city, and the depression figure is roughly 14,700.
Those people share a small pool of prescribers with Harrison, Upshur, Rusk, and Panola counties, whose residents also come to Longview for care. Texas DSHS reported that 162 Texas counties had no psychiatrist in 2025. A video visit that reaches a patient in Gilmer or Carthage directly means one fewer person competing for a Longview slot.
| Measure | Longview | Tyler | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adults diagnosed with depression | 23.7% | 23.1% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ bad days/month) | 19.2% | 18.2% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population | 61,908 | 82,341 | 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 a psychiatrist cost in Longview on an Eastman, school district, or Medicare plan?
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.
Eastman runs its own group plan for Texas Operations employees; bring the card and we will confirm the carrier and the copay before the first visit. Longview ISD, Pine Tree ISD, Spring Hill ISD, and Hallsville ISD staff are mostly on TRS-ActiveCare, which BCBS TX administers, and those visits land in the $0–$30 range. CHRISTUS Good Shepherd and Longview Regional each cover their own staff through their own carriers. We bill Medicare for Gregg County retirees, and Humana Medicare Advantage is common in Longview. LeTourneau students are usually on a parent's PPO, which works the same by video as it would at home.
| 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 |
The self-pay prices are flat, and HSA and FSA cards are accepted. A contractor at the plant with no group coverage pays $250 for the evaluation and $150 for each medication follow-up, and nothing else.
Who will you see
Dr. Akinwande Akintola, MD, is the 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. NaTascha Jones, LPC, and Prishina Jimenez, LPC, provide therapy. Lyte has served 3,000+ patients and averages 4.9 stars across 200+ Google reviews.
Your questions, answered
Frequently asked questions from Longview patients
Does Lyte have a Longview office, or is this video only?
Video only. There is no Lyte office in Longview or anywhere in Gregg County. Our one clinic is in Pantego, beside Arlington, about 145 miles west on I-20, and we do not expect Longview patients to drive there. Every evaluation, follow-up, and therapy session happens by secure video from wherever you are in Longview, Kilgore, White Oak, or Hallsville.
Can someone in Longview see a psychiatrist by video this week?
Yes. Most new Longview patients are seen within 1–2 business days, and booking is online at any hour. That timeline applies to a first evaluation as well as follow-ups. If you have been quoted a wait of weeks by a clinic off Loop 281 or in Tyler, you can book here without a referral and keep the other appointment as a backup.
I work rotating shifts at Eastman. Can you schedule around that?
Yes. Tell us your rotation when you book, and we will set your follow-ups on your off days or before a night shift starts. A video visit takes about the length of a lunch break, and your prescription goes electronically to a Longview pharmacy while you are still on the call. Eastman's group plan is verified before the first visit, so there is no surprise at checkout.
What does a visit cost in Longview with insurance versus self-pay?
With a plan we take, including BCBS TX, TRS-ActiveCare, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, Humana, and Medicare, most Longview patients pay a $0–$30 copay per visit. Self-pay is $250 for the psychiatric evaluation, $150 for a medication follow-up, and $150 for a first therapy session, and an HSA or FSA card covers it. A Gregg County patient with no coverage pays those flat prices and nothing more.
Can a LeTourneau University student get care without going home for it?
Yes. A LeTourneau student on a parent's plan can book, verify benefits, and be seen by video from campus on Mobberly Avenue within 1–2 business days. Because we cover all of Texas, the same prescriber continues over summer break as long as the student is in the state. Students 18 and older book for themselves; a parent in Houston or Dallas cannot book without the student's consent.
Should I try Community Healthcore before booking with Lyte?
If you have no insurance and cannot pay $250, yes. Community Healthcore is the public mental health authority for Gregg County and serves uninsured residents first. If you have an Eastman, hospital, school district, Medicare, or marketplace plan, you will usually be seen faster by a private practice that bills it, and booking here does not affect your place on any Community Healthcore list.
Do I have to drive to Pantego to start ADHD medication from Longview?
Only for a stimulant. 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 from Longview. For most Gregg County adults and teens we start with a non-stimulant by video and only plan the 145-mile trip if that medication falls short.
Nearby areas we also serve
Explore care across East Texas or all Texas locations.
We also see patients by video in Tyler, Texarkana, Nacogdoches, Lufkin, and Dallas, and from Kilgore, Marshall, Gilmer, Henderson, White Oak, and Hallsville under this Longview page.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in Longview
Community Healthcore is the public mental health authority for Gregg County and serves residents without insurance first. Call or text 988 any time for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. For a psychiatric emergency, go to the emergency department at CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Medical Center on Marshall Avenue or at Longview Regional Medical Center off Loop 281. LeTourneau students can start with the campus counseling office.
Book a video visit at book.lytepsych.com 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.