Yes. Lyte Psychiatry sees Temple patients by secure video from your home, your car in the Baylor Scott & White parking garage, or anywhere else in Texas. Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. With an in-network plan you will usually pay a $0–$30 copay per visit; a self-pay psychiatric evaluation is $250.
Who is this Temple page for?
Temple is a hospital town. Baylor Scott & White Medical Center on South 31st Street is the biggest employer in the city, the Olin E. Teague Veterans' Medical Center is a couple of miles away off South 1st Street, and the Texas A&M College of Medicine trains students on the Temple campus. A large share of the city works hospital shifts, and being surrounded by medicine does not make a psychiatry appointment easy to get.
A BSW nurse or resident knows the psychiatry clinic at her own hospital books out, and she may not want coworkers reading her chart anyway. A veteran who gets primary care at the Teague VA may be waiting on a mental health referral while his sleep gets worse. Temple ISD teachers and Temple College students are on schedules that make a 1 p.m. appointment across town hard to keep. Central Counties Services, the public mental health authority for Bell County, serves people without coverage first, so a person with a BCBS TX or UnitedHealthcare card is usually not who they prioritize.
We treat Temple patients by video, in network, this week. You do not have to leave the VA system or your hospital's employee plan to start.
What can Temple patients get treated for by video?
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 counselor write in one shared chart and can each read the other's notes.
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 also a licensed Suboxone prescriber for opioid use disorder, which matters for veterans who came out of pain management on opioids.
Mode: video only. There is no Lyte office in Temple. Our one clinic is in Pantego, next to Arlington, about 130 miles north on I-35 and I-35W, and we are not going to pretend that is a reasonable drive for a follow-up. Every Temple visit happens on a secure video link, with the same prescriber each time. Your prescription goes electronically to the H-E-B or Walgreens you name in Temple.
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 Temple adult with ADHD, a non-stimulant started by video is often the first step, and the prescriber will tell you whether it is likely to be enough for you.
Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book. We write clinical letters for Temple ISD, Temple College, or your employer on request. If you work nights at BSW or the VA, tell us your rotation when you book and we will find a slot before or after your shift.
What the numbers say about Temple
Temple reports more depression than Waco, 35 miles up I-35. CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) puts diagnosed depression among Temple adults at 25.4%, against 24.3% in Waco. Frequent mental distress, meaning 14 or more poor mental health days in a month, is 18.5% in Temple. Waco's figure is higher at 20.4%. Temple (Bell County) has 61,612 adults in the same release, so about one in four of them has been told by a clinician that they have depression, roughly 15,600 people. That is a lot of demand for a city whose psychiatry supply is concentrated inside one hospital system and one VA.
| Measure | Temple | Waco | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adults diagnosed with depression | 25.4% | 24.3% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ bad days/month) | 18.5% | 20.4% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population, Temple (Bell County) | 61,612 | 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 Temple 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. The cards we see from Temple split by employer. Temple ISD staff carry TRS-ActiveCare, which BCBS TX administers, and that is in network. Medicare covers retirees who settled near the VA and Tricare covers the Fort Cavazos retirees who moved east to Temple. Baylor Scott & White employees often carry the Scott and White Health Plan, so send a photo of your card when you book and we will tell you where you stand before your visit. Veterans who want to keep the VA for primary care can pay $250 for the evaluation and $150 per follow-up here and never involve the VA at all.
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 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 across 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 Temple patients
Is online psychiatry available for people living in Temple, Texas?
Yes. Lyte Psychiatry is licensed in Texas and sees Temple residents by secure video for evaluation, medication management, and therapy. You need a phone or laptop with a camera and a private place to sit; a parked car outside the BSW garage on South 31st Street counts. We do not require a referral.
Does Lyte have an office in Temple or anywhere in Bell County?
No. Our only clinic is in Pantego, beside Arlington, about 130 miles north of Temple by I-35 and I-35W. That drive is not realistic for regular care, so every Temple patient is treated by video. The one exception is a first stimulant evaluation for ADHD, which by policy happens in person in Pantego.
How quickly can a Temple patient get a first appointment?
Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days of booking, and same-week is typical. If a referral through the Teague VA or the BSW psychiatry clinic has you waiting, you can keep that appointment and still start here. Book online at any hour and pick the earliest slot that fits your shift.
What will a visit cost me in Temple with insurance, and without it?
With BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, Humana, Medicare, or Tricare, most Temple patients pay a $0–$30 copay per visit. Without insurance, or if your Scott and White Health Plan turns out to be out of network, a new-patient psychiatric evaluation is $250, a medication follow-up is $150, and a first therapy session is $150.
I get my care at the Olin E. Teague VA. Can I also see Lyte?
Yes. Many veterans keep the VA for primary care and prescriptions they already have, and use Lyte for psychiatry they cannot get scheduled. You can pay self-pay or use Medicare or Tricare if you have it. Bring your VA medication list to the first video visit so the prescriber can avoid interactions, and we will send a summary to your VA primary care team if you ask us to.
I work at Baylor Scott & White in Temple. Will my coworkers see my chart?
No. Lyte is a separate practice with its own record system; nothing we write appears in the BSW chart unless you ask us to send a letter or summary. You can book a video visit before or after a 12-hour shift, and a therapy session with one of our counselors is on the same record as your prescriber's notes here.
Can I start ADHD medication from Temple without driving to Pantego?
Non-stimulants, yes. 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 Temple College student or a Temple ISD teacher, that means one video evaluation, a non-stimulant prescription to a Temple pharmacy, and follow-ups by video.
Nearby areas we also serve
Explore care across Austin & Central Texas or all Texas locations.
We also see patients by video from Killeen, Waco, Georgetown, Round Rock, Austin, and College Station.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in Temple
Central Counties Services is the public mental health authority for Bell County and serves residents without insurance or with limited income. Call or text 988 at any hour for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Veterans in crisis can dial 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line, and the Olin E. Teague Veterans' Medical Center offers mental health care to enrolled veterans. Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Temple has an emergency department on South 31st Street for a psychiatric emergency.
Book a video visit from Temple at book.lytepsych.com and we will verify your benefits before your first appointment. Or call 469-733-0848.
Find the public mental health authority for your county through the Texas HHS local authority directory.