Yes. Lyte Psychiatry sees Lubbock patients by secure video from a Texas Tech dorm room or a farmhouse outside Levelland. Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. Insured patients usually pay a $0–$30 copay per visit, and a self-pay psychiatric evaluation is $250.
Who is this Lubbock page for?
Start at the Texas Tech Student Counseling Center in the second week of September. Intake demand peaks, and the counselor who does the intake cannot prescribe anything. A student on a parent's BlueCross BlueShield plan who has been off medication since move-in day needs a prescriber this week, and the psychiatry clinic at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center has a wait of its own. That student is the first person we wrote this page for.
The second is a patient in Brownfield, Slaton, or Tahoka who has already driven 40 miles into Lubbock for a primary care visit and got a referral to a psychiatrist with a long wait. Lubbock is the medical hub for the whole South Plains. Covenant Health and UMC Health System draw patients from across the region, so the psychiatrists attached to them are booked by people coming in from ninety miles away. StarCare Specialty Health System, the public mental health authority for Lubbock County, serves people without coverage first, and a Lubbock ISD teacher with TRS-ActiveCare or a Covenant nurse with a commercial plan often does not qualify for its front-of-line services.
If you have a plan we take or can pay $250, we can see you this week, and you will not have to find parking on 4th Street to do it.
What can Lyte treat for Lubbock patients?
Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for adults, teens, and children, all by video. Therapy with licensed professional counselors using CBT, solution-focused, and trauma-focused approaches. Combined care, where your prescriber and your counselor share one chart, so you tell your story once. ADHD evaluation and treatment for adults and teens.
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, including accommodation letters for Texas Tech's Student Disability Services when a diagnosis supports one.
Mode for Lubbock: video only, no drive. There is no Lyte office in Lubbock. Our one clinic is in Pantego, inside Arlington, roughly 330 miles east on US-84 and I-20, and we will not suggest that as a day trip. Every Lubbock visit, first and follow-up, happens by secure video with the same provider each time. Prescriptions go to the pharmacy you name, whether that is a United Supermarkets pharmacy in Lubbock or a pharmacy in Shallowater.
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 Lubbock patients that means a non-stimulant such as atomoxetine or guanfacine started this week from home, with the stimulant question revisited if you are ever in the Dallas–Fort Worth area for a day. Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book.
A first video visit covers what you have taken before and what happened, so bring that list. If you are a student, log in from somewhere private; the group study rooms at the Texas Tech library are fine if you book one. If you are calling from a ranch near Tahoka with weak cell service, tell us when you book so we can plan around it.
Learn how therapy and psychiatry work together when both are part of your care plan.
What the numbers say about Lubbock
Lubbock County adults report more diagnosed depression and more frequent mental distress than Texas as a whole. CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) puts diagnosed depression among Lubbock County adults at 22.7%, three full points above the Texas figure of 19.7%. Frequent mental distress, meaning 14 or more poor mental health days in the past month, is 18.5% in Lubbock County against 16.1% for Texas. With 198,077 adults in the county per the same release, the depression figure alone is about 45,000 people, and the distress figure about 36,600.
The catchment is bigger than the county. Patients from Hockley, Terry, Lynn, and Crosby counties come to Lubbock for psychiatry because that is where the specialists are, so the Lubbock waitlist is a South Plains waitlist.
| Measure | Lubbock County | Texas | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adults diagnosed with depression | 22.7% | 19.7% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ poor days/month) | 18.5% | 16.1% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population, Lubbock County | 198,077 | 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 an online psychiatrist cost in Lubbock with 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 |
Self-pay prices are flat, and HSA and FSA cards are accepted. In Lubbock the card we see most is BlueCross BlueShield of Texas, for three reasons. Texas Tech and TTUHSC employees are on HealthSelect through the Employees Retirement System of Texas, which BCBS TX administers. Lubbock ISD staff are on TRS-ActiveCare, also a BCBS TX plan. And a student on a parent's plan from Dallas or Houston is most often on BCBS TX or UnitedHealthcare. Covenant and UMC employees bring a mix of carriers, so send a photo of your card when you book and we will tell you the copay before you are seen. Medicare covers our visits for older patients in Lubbock and the small towns around it. If you bought your own plan on the marketplace and it is Ambetter, we take that too.
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 and holds a 4.9-star average from 200+ Google reviews.
Your questions, answered
Frequently asked questions from Lubbock patients
Can a Lubbock resident get a video psychiatry appointment this week?
Yes. Most new Lubbock patients are seen within 1–2 business days by secure video, and you book online at any hour. If TTUHSC Psychiatry or a private practice on Quaker Avenue has quoted you a wait of months, you do not need a referral to start here. Bring the referral anyway if you have one; it usually lists what your primary care doctor already tried.
Is there a Lyte office in Lubbock, or do I have to drive to Dallas?
There is no Lyte office in Lubbock and you do not have to drive anywhere. Our only clinic is in Pantego, next to Arlington, about 330 miles east, so every Lubbock visit is by video. The one exception is a first stimulant evaluation for ADHD, which our policy requires in person; if that is what you need and you will not be in Dallas–Fort Worth, we will start a non-stimulant by video instead.
I am a Texas Tech student. What happens to my care over summer break or after graduation?
You keep it, as long as you are in Texas. A student who goes home to Houston, Dallas, or Amarillo for the summer logs in from there, with the same provider and no transfer. If you graduate and move to Austin or Midland for a job, nothing changes either. If you move out of state, we cannot see you there, so tell us a few weeks before you leave and we will write a summary for your next prescriber and send enough refills to cover the gap.
I live in Levelland, Brownfield, or Slaton. Can you see me, or is this for Lubbock city only?
We see the whole South Plains. Levelland is about 30 miles west on SH-114, Brownfield about 40 miles southwest on US-62/82, and Slaton about 17 miles southeast on US-84, and none of that matters for a video visit. Your prescription goes to the pharmacy in your own town.
What does a Lubbock visit cost with insurance, and what if I have no coverage?
With an in-network plan such as BCBS TX, HealthSelect through Texas Tech, TRS-ActiveCare through Lubbock ISD, UnitedHealthcare, or Aetna, most patients pay a $0–$30 copay per visit. Without coverage, a new-patient evaluation is $250, a medication follow-up is $150, and a first therapy session is $150. That is a flat price, and you can pay with an HSA or FSA card.
I used up my free sessions at the Texas Tech Student Counseling Center. Can you take over?
Yes. The Student Counseling Center does not prescribe, so if you need medication you were going to be referred out anyway. We can evaluate you by video within 1–2 business days, start or restart a medication, and add therapy with one of our counselors if you want it, all in one chart. You can bill your own plan or a parent's plan; the Texas Tech student plan is a BCBS TX plan, which we take, but check your card when you book.
Does StarCare have a shorter wait, and should I try there first?
StarCare Specialty Health System is the public mental health authority for Lubbock County. It exists for people without insurance or with very low income, and its priority services follow Texas eligibility rules, so an insured Texas Tech employee or a Covenant nurse usually does not qualify for its faster tracks. If you have no coverage and cannot pay $250, call StarCare first. If you have a plan or can pay, we are the shorter path.
Nearby areas we also serve
Explore care across West Texas & the Panhandle or all Texas locations.
Patients also reach us from Amarillo, Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, and Abilene, and from any town on the South Plains with an internet connection.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in Lubbock
StarCare Specialty Health System is the public mental health authority for Lubbock County and the first stop for residents without insurance. Call or text 988 at any hour for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Psychiatry runs academic and specialty clinics in Lubbock. Covenant Health Behavioral Health provides inpatient and crisis services when a situation is beyond what an outpatient video visit can handle. NAMI Texas lists peer support groups for patients and families in the Lubbock area.
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.