Yes. Lyte Psychiatry sees Wichita Falls patients by secure video from anywhere in Wichita County, with Tricare and the major commercial plans in network. 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. There is no Lyte office in Wichita Falls.
Who is this Wichita Falls page for?
Midterms at Midwestern State University land in October, and that is when the campus counseling center on Taft Blvd fills up. A student who has been managing anxiety or an old ADHD prescription from a hometown doctor in Plano or Amarillo now needs a prescriber who can see them between classes and keep seeing them over winter break. That student is the first reader of this page. Your parents' BCBS TX or UnitedHealthcare plan works here, and the visit happens on a laptop in your dorm or apartment.
The second reader lives north of the city near Sheppard Air Force Base. The 82nd Training Wing and the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program keep thousands of airmen, instructors, and their families cycling through Sheppard, and the 82nd Medical Group clinic on base cannot hold every spouse or teenager who needs ongoing psychiatric care. If you are a Tricare family in Burkburnett or on the east side of the city and have been told the next off-base opening is weeks out, this page is for you.
The third is a nurse or tech at United Regional Health Care System, or a teacher at Wichita Falls ISD, working a schedule that never lines up with a 2:00 p.m. slot in a clinic office. Helen Farabee Centers, the public mental health authority for Wichita County, serves residents without coverage first. If you carry insurance or can pay $250, a video visit this week is the faster route.
What can Lyte treat for Wichita Falls patients?
Every Wichita Falls visit is by secure video. There is no Lyte office in the city, and our only clinic sits in Pantego, inside Arlington, about 130 miles southeast down US-287. That is not a reasonable drive from Wichita County, so we do not ask you to make it. You take the visit from your apartment near MSU or your house in Burkburnett, as long as you are physically in Texas and can talk in private. You see the same prescriber at every visit.
We provide psychiatric evaluation and medication management for adults, teens, and children. Licensed professional counselors provide therapy using CBT, solution-focused, and trauma-focused work. Prescriber and therapist share one chart, so nothing gets repeated or lost between them. ADHD evaluation and treatment for adults and teens covers both stimulant and non-stimulant medication.
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. Clinical letters for school, work, or a base office are written 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 Wichita Falls patients that means a non-stimulant started this week from home, with the trade-offs explained by the prescriber, and the Pantego trip only if you and the prescriber later agree a stimulant is the right call.
Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book. Prescriptions go electronically to the pharmacy you name, whether that is a chain on Kemp Blvd or the Sheppard pharmacy for families who fill on base. If the prescriber thinks therapy would help, the first counselor session can be booked during the same call.
Learn how therapy and psychiatry work together when both are part of your care plan.
What the numbers say about Wichita Falls
Wichita Falls carries one of the higher diagnosed depression rates among the mid-sized Texas cities we serve. CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) reports that 23.7% of Wichita Falls adults have been told they have depression. Abilene, the other Air Force base city 140 miles south, is at 23.3%, and Texas as a whole is at 19.7%. Frequent mental distress, meaning 14 or more poor mental health days in a month, is 18.8% in Wichita Falls, identical to Abilene's 18.8% and above the Texas figure of 16.1%. The same release counts 80,164 adults in Wichita Falls, which sits in Wichita County. Applied to that population, the distress rate works out to roughly 15,000 adults in the city having a bad month right now.
| Measure | Wichita Falls | Abilene | Texas | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults diagnosed with depression | 23.7% | 23.3% | 19.7% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ bad days/month) | 18.8% | 18.8% | 16.1% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population (Wichita County) | 80,164 | 96,412 | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
Supply is short as well. Texas DSHS reported that 162 Texas counties had no psychiatrist in 2025. Wichita Falls is the city where residents of Clay, Archer, Wilbarger, and Montague counties drive for a specialist, which puts extra pressure on the few local practices and their waitlists.
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 Wichita Falls 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 comes up more than any other card in Wichita Falls because of Sheppard. Tricare Select family members can book directly. Tricare Prime family members should tell us at booking so we can check with Humana Military, the Tricare East contractor, whether a referral is on file or needed. After Tricare, the plans we see most are BCBS TX through Wichita Falls ISD's TRS-ActiveCare coverage, the United Regional employee plan, BCBS TX for MSU Texas staff through the Texas Tech University System, and Medicare for retirees who settled near the base after a final assignment. Self-pay is one flat price with no hidden 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 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 Wichita Falls patients
Can I do a psychiatry appointment from my apartment in Wichita Falls without driving anywhere?
Yes. Every Lyte visit for Wichita Falls is by secure video, and you can take it from an apartment off Taft Blvd or a house in Burkburnett, or from anywhere else in Texas where you have a private spot and a phone or laptop. Nobody in Wichita County has to drive to see us. The only exception is a first stimulant evaluation for ADHD, which happens in person in Pantego.
Is there a Lyte office in Wichita Falls, or is the nearest one in Fort Worth?
There is no Lyte office in Wichita Falls, and none in Fort Worth either. Our one clinic is at 2900 W Park Row Dr in Pantego, inside Arlington, roughly 130 miles from Wichita Falls by US-287. We do not expect anyone from Wichita County to make that trip for routine care, which is why the city is served by video only.
How soon can a new patient in Wichita Falls get seen?
Most new Wichita Falls patients are seen within 1–2 business days of booking online. That is faster than the typical wait for an off-base psychiatry referral near Sheppard or for the next opening at a private practice on Kell Freeway. Book at any hour. We verify your insurance before the visit, so you are not waiting on a call back first.
Does Lyte take Tricare for Sheppard Air Force Base families, and do I need a referral?
Yes, Tricare is in network. Tricare Select members can book with us directly. Family members on Tricare Prime should tell us at booking, and we will confirm with Humana Military whether a referral from your Sheppard primary care manager is required before the first visit. Active duty members usually start with the 82nd Medical Group on base, which controls their referrals; spouses, children, and retirees are the Sheppard patients we see most. We do not see patients who are physically outside Texas at the time of the visit, so a TDY out of state pauses care until you are back.
What does a visit cost in Wichita Falls with insurance, and what if I am uninsured?
With an in-network plan such as Tricare, BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, or Aetna, most Wichita Falls patients pay a $0–$30 copay per visit. Without insurance, the new-patient psychiatric evaluation is $250, a medication follow-up is $150, and a first therapy session is $150. A Midwestern State student paying cash gets the same flat prices, and HSA and FSA cards work.
I am an MSU Texas student. Can my prescriber keep seeing me after I go home for the summer?
Yes, as long as home is in Texas. Video visits work the same from your family's house in Amarillo, Plano, or El Paso as they do from your apartment near campus, and you keep the same prescriber. If your family lives outside Texas, tell us before the semester ends and we will plan refills and a handoff. We also write letters for MSU Texas disability services on request.
Can I get ADHD medication by video in Wichita Falls, or do I have to go to Pantego?
Non-stimulant ADHD medication can start by video from Wichita Falls this week. 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. For a Sheppard spouse or an MSU student, the usual path is to start a non-stimulant by video and revisit the question with the prescriber later.
Nearby areas we also serve
Explore care across Dallas-Fort Worth & North Texas or all Texas locations.
We also see patients by video from Denton, Fort Worth, Weatherford, Sherman and Denison, and Abilene.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in Wichita Falls
Helen Farabee Centers is the public mental health authority for Wichita County and serves residents without insurance, with its headquarters in Wichita Falls. Call or text 988 any time to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The MSU Texas counseling center serves enrolled students at no charge, and Sheppard's 82nd Medical Group offers mental health services on base for active duty members. United Regional Health Care System is the emergency option in the city for a psychiatric crisis that cannot wait.
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.