Yes. Lyte Psychiatry sees Kerrville and Kerr County patients by secure video, so there is no drive down I-10 to San Antonio for a psychiatrist. Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. Medicare and most commercial plans are in network with a $0–$30 copay per visit, and a self-pay evaluation is $250.
Who is this Kerrville page for?
The Kerrville VA Medical Center on Memorial Boulevard is the reason a lot of veterans retired to Kerr County in the first place. If you are enrolled there, you may already have a VA mental health provider, and you may also have a Medicare card, a Tricare card from a career in the service, or a spouse's plan. This page is for the veteran, or the veteran's wife or husband, who wants an appointment in days rather than weeks and wants to use one of those other cards to get it.
Kerrville is also a retirement town. Kerr County's median age is in the high 40s against a Texas median in the mid 30s, per the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, and a large share of the county carries Medicare. Peterson Regional Medical Center and the Peterson Health clinics handle the medical side of that population well. Psychiatry is thinner. Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers, the public mental health authority for Kerr County, is headquartered here and serves people without coverage first, so a Medicare patient with a new depression diagnosis is usually pointed to a private practice, and the nearest large pool of private psychiatrists is in San Antonio, about an hour down I-10.
The rest of the county is on the same page. A Kerrville ISD teacher at Tivy High School on TRS-ActiveCare, a Schreiner University student whose campus counseling sessions have run out, or a family in Ingram or Hunt who has been living with the aftermath of the July 2025 Guadalupe River flood can all be seen by video from home.
What can Lyte treat for Kerrville patients?
Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for adults, teens, and children. Therapy with licensed professional counselors who use CBT, solution-focused, and trauma-focused approaches. Combined care, where your prescriber and your therapist share one chart, which spares a Kerrville patient the job of carrying records between a psychiatrist in San Antonio and a counselor at home. ADHD evaluation and treatment for adults and teens.
Conditions we treat include depression, anxiety, panic, social anxiety, PTSD and trauma, OCD, bipolar disorder, ADHD, insomnia, postpartum and perinatal mood problems, grief, and stress and burnout. Grief and trauma care matters in Kerr County after the 2025 flood, and the counselors here are trained for it. Dr. Akintola is a licensed Suboxone prescriber for opioid use disorder. Clinical letters for school, work, or clearance are written on request.
Kerrville care is by video only. We have one office, in Pantego next to Arlington, roughly 270 miles from Kerrville, and nobody in the Hill Country should drive that far for a follow-up. You see the same provider at every visit, and prescriptions go electronically to the pharmacy you name in Kerrville.
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 Kerrville adult or teen that usually means starting a non-stimulant on the first video visit and deciding later whether a single trip to Pantego for a stimulant evaluation makes sense. Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book.
If you are new to video visits, the first one takes a link on a phone or computer with a camera. A family member is welcome to sit in on the first visit.
Learn how therapy and psychiatry work together when both are part of your care plan.
What the numbers say about Kerrville
Kerrville carries slightly more diagnosed depression than Boerne, its neighbor down I-10, and slightly less than San Antonio. CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) puts diagnosed depression among Kerrville adults at 21.6%. Boerne is 21.5%, San Antonio is 22.4%, and Texas as a whole is 19.7%. Frequent mental distress, meaning 14 or more poor mental health days in a month, is 16.0% in Kerrville against 15.5% in Boerne, 17.2% in San Antonio, and 16.1% statewide. The same release counts 20,110 adults in Kerrville, which sits in Kerr County, so about 4,300 Kerrville adults have been told they have depression and roughly 3,200 are having a bad month at any given time.
Those numbers describe an older population, and depression in older adults is often missed because it can look like fatigue or poor sleep. Kerr County had 52,598 residents in the 2020 Census. Texas DSHS reports that 162 Texas counties had no psychiatrist in 2025.
| Measure | Kerrville | Boerne | San Antonio | Texas | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults diagnosed with depression | 21.6% | 21.5% | 22.4% | 19.7% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ bad days/month) | 16.0% | 15.5% | 17.2% | 16.1% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population, Kerrville (Kerr County) | 20,110 | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 | |||
| Total population, Kerr County | 52,598 | U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census |
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 Medicare for a psychiatrist visit in Kerrville, and what does it cost?
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 |
Medicare is the card we expect most from Kerrville. Original Medicare covers psychiatric visits by video with a Texas provider, and a Medigap plan often leaves nothing to pay at the visit. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, tell us the carrier on the card, so we can confirm the plan is in network before you are seen. Tricare covers military retirees and their families, and TRS-ActiveCare, the BCBS TX plan for Kerrville ISD staff, is in network. VA health benefits are separate from the plans above, so a veteran enrolled at the Kerrville VA usually uses Medicare, Tricare, a private plan, or the self-pay rate here. 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+ 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 Kerrville patients
Is there a Lyte office in Kerrville, or do I drive to San Antonio?
Neither. Our only office is in Pantego, next to Arlington, roughly 270 miles from Kerrville, and every Kerrville visit is by secure video. You take the visit from home in Kerrville or from a Schreiner University dorm, wherever the quiet is.
Can a Kerrville patient on Medicare see a psychiatrist by video this week?
Yes. Medicare is in network, video psychiatric visits are covered, and most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. Bring your red, white, and blue Medicare card and any Medigap or Advantage card to the booking form, and we will verify the benefit before the visit.
How quickly can a veteran at the Kerrville VA get seen here?
Most new patients are seen within 1–2 business days. Nothing about booking with us changes your VA enrollment or your VA prescriptions, and if you sign a release we will send our notes to your VA provider on Memorial Boulevard so the two charts agree.
What is the price for a Kerrville psychiatrist visit with insurance and without it?
With Medicare, Tricare, BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, or Humana, most Kerrville patients pay a $0–$30 copay per visit. Without insurance, a new-patient psychiatric evaluation is $250, a medication follow-up is $150, and a first therapy session is $150. Those prices are flat, and HSA and FSA cards work.
I already called Hill Country MHDD in Kerrville. Do I still need this page?
Hill Country MHDD is the public mental health authority for Kerr County and serves residents without coverage first, so if you have no insurance and cannot pay $250 it is the right door. If you have Medicare, Tricare, or a commercial plan, a video visit here is usually available within 1–2 business days, and keeping both appointments costs you nothing.
My family was affected by the 2025 Guadalupe River flood. Do you treat grief and trauma by video?
Yes. Our counselors do trauma-focused and grief work by video, and a prescriber can help with the sleep problems and panic that often follow a loss like that. If you live in Hunt, Ingram, or Center Point and do not want to drive into Kerrville for anything, the visit comes to you.
Can a Schreiner University student use a parent's insurance for video psychiatry in Kerrville?
Yes. Many students carry a parent's BCBS TX, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, or Cigna plan, and we verify that plan before the first visit. You do not need a referral from Schreiner's counseling office, and we can keep seeing you over summer break as long as you are physically in Texas at the time of the visit.
Nearby areas we also serve
Explore care across Austin & Central Texas or all Texas locations.
We also see patients from Boerne, San Antonio, New Braunfels, San Marcos, and Austin.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in Kerrville
Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers is the public mental health authority for Kerr County and serves residents without insurance first. Call or text 988 any time to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline; veterans can press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line. Veterans enrolled in VA care can ask the Kerrville VA Medical Center about its mental health clinic. In an emergency, go to the emergency department at Peterson Regional Medical Center.
Book a video visit at book.lytepsych.com and we will verify your Medicare or other 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.