Yes. Most new patients from North Richland Hills get a first appointment within 1–2 business days. You can come to our Pantego clinic, roughly 12 miles south via Loop 820 and SH-360, or meet the same provider by secure video. With an in-network plan the copay is $0–$30 a visit; a self-pay psychiatric evaluation costs $250.
Who this page is for in North Richland Hills
Picture the 7 a.m. platform at the North Richland Hills/Iron Horse TEXRail station. Half the people waiting are headed to downtown Fort Worth and the other half toward DFW Airport, and a few of them have been telling themselves for months that the sleep problem or the flat mood will sort itself out. If that is you, this page is for you first. It is also for the Richland High or Birdville High parent whose teen brought home a note from the campus counselor about attention or a grade slide, and who would rather not burn a Saturday driving to a children's hospital in Fort Worth or Dallas for a first evaluation. And it is for the nurses and techs at Medical City North Hills on Booth Calloway Rd, who know exactly what an emergency department can and cannot do for an outpatient medication question.
Medical City North Hills is the emergency option. MHMR of Tarrant County is the public mental health authority for Tarrant County, and it reserves its capacity for people with the most serious conditions and the fewest options. Neither is set up for a routine ADHD evaluation or a medication check. That gap, for anyone with a BlueCross BlueShield of Texas card from Birdville ISD or a commercial plan from a Mid-Cities employer, is the one we fill.
What can Lyte treat for North Richland Hills patients?
For adults, teens, and children: psychiatric evaluation and medication management. Because Dr. Akintola holds board certification in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, a Birdville middle-schooler and that child's parent can both be patients here. Conditions we treat include depression, anxiety, panic, social anxiety, PTSD and trauma, OCD, bipolar disorder, ADHD, insomnia, postpartum and perinatal mood problems, grief, and burnout.
Therapy comes from our licensed professional counselors, who work in CBT, solution-focused, and trauma-focused models. A patient who sees a prescriber and a therapist here has one chart, so the counselor sees the medication change and the prescriber sees the session note.
ADHD care for adults and teens includes QbCheck objective testing, and we prescribe both stimulants and non-stimulants. Clinical letters for school or work are written on request, which covers the documentation a Birdville ISD campus counselor may ask for with a 504 request.
In person means our clinic at 2900 W Park Row Dr, Suite 111, in Pantego, about 12 miles south of central North Richland Hills by Loop 820 and SH-360. By video means the same provider on a secure link from your kitchen table in Smithfield or a parked car in a Mid-Cities office lot. Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book. Whichever you pick, the provider stays the same at every visit.
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 the Rufe Snow side of town that first in-person visit is roughly 25 minutes outside rush hour. A common pattern is one drive down for the evaluation, then video from then on.
Learn how therapy and psychiatry work together when both are part of your care plan.
What the numbers say about North Richland Hills
CDC PLACES (BRFSS 2023) puts North Richland Hills at 54,384 adults, with 23.9% of them carrying a doctor's diagnosis of depression. Next door in Haltom City, which shares Birdville ISD with North Richland Hills, the same CDC PLACES data shows 23.8%, so the two halves of the district look alike on that measure. Frequent mental distress, defined as 14 or more poor mental health days in a month, runs 16.8% in North Richland Hills. That is lower than Haltom City's 19.9% and Fort Worth's 18.5% from the same source, and it still works out to roughly 9,100 adults in a bad month at any given time.
Against that count, the city has one hospital on the Loop 820 side and shares one public mental health authority with the rest of Tarrant County's more than 2 million residents, so outpatient capacity has to come from somewhere else.
| Measure | North Richland Hills | Texas | U.S. | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults told they have depression | 23.9% | 19.7% | 21.8% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress (14+ bad days/month) | 16.8% | 16.1% | 15.4% | CDC PLACES, BRFSS 2023 |
| Adult population | 54,384 | 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 a psychiatrist cost in North Richland Hills with insurance?
For most insured North Richland Hills patients, $0 to $30 per visit after we verify your benefits. We are in network with BlueCross BlueShield of Texas, UnitedHealthcare and Optum, Cigna and Evernorth, Aetna, Humana, Ambetter, Medicare, Tricare, and more (see the full list). We check your benefits before the first visit, so you know your copay before you sit down.
Birdville ISD employees are on TRS-ActiveCare, which uses the BlueCross BlueShield of Texas network, and that network includes us. Medical City North Hills staff mostly carry one of the commercial carriers above. Households in the older subdivisions between Glenview Dr and Rufe Snow are often on Medicare, and Medicare patients are in network here as well.
Without insurance, you pay a flat fee and know it in advance. HSA and FSA cards work.
| 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 |
Who will you see at Lyte Psychiatry?
Dr. Akinwande Akintola, MD, is our medical director and supervisory psychiatrist. He is board-certified in Adult Psychiatry and in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, trained at Johns Hopkins and stayed on faculty there before moving to Texas in 2012. Toyin Awe, PMHNP-BC, is a psychiatric nurse practitioner with more than 12 years of experience. NaTascha Jones, LPC, and Prishina Jimenez, LPC, provide therapy. More than 3,000 patients have come through the practice, which holds a 4.9-star average from over 200 Google reviews.
Your questions, answered
Frequently asked questions from North Richland Hills patients
Can a North Richland Hills patient get a psychiatry appointment this week?
For most new patients, yes, within 1–2 business days. The nearest in-person option is our Pantego office, about 12 miles south of the Iron Horse TEXRail station area, and every clinician on our team also does video visits. Booking is online at book.lytepsych.com, or call 469-733-0848.
How far is the Pantego office from North Richland Hills, and what is the route?
About 12 miles from North Richland Hills City Hall on City Point Dr. The address is 2900 W Park Row Dr, Suite 111, Pantego, TX 76013. Take Loop 820 east to SH-360, go south, exit at Park Row Dr, and head west. Park Row runs through Arlington past Cooper St and Bowen Rd and ends up in Pantego. Budget 25 minutes with clear roads; the SH-360 stretch slows down after 4:30 p.m.
Can Lyte see a Richland High or Birdville High student for ADHD before the next grading period?
Yes. The first appointment is usually within 1–2 business days, and Dr. Akintola is board-certified in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, so a Birdville ISD student does not get sent to Cook Children's in Fort Worth for the initial evaluation. If a stimulant is on the table, that first visit happens in person at Pantego. For anxiety, depression, or a non-stimulant plan, video works from the first visit, and the student misses one class period rather than a half day on Loop 820.
What does a visit cost for someone in North Richland Hills, insured or not?
In network, which includes BlueCross BlueShield of Texas, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, and Cigna, most North Richland Hills patients pay $0 to $30 per visit. Self-pay is a flat $250 for a new-patient psychiatric evaluation, $150 for a medication follow-up, $150 for a first therapy session and $125 for each one after, and $150 for a QbCheck ADHD test. Birdville ISD staff on TRS-ActiveCare are covered under BlueCross BlueShield of Texas.
Is Lyte in network for Birdville ISD staff on TRS-ActiveCare?
Yes. Birdville ISD runs its central office out of Haltom City, but its campuses cover North Richland Hills, Haltom City, Richland Hills, and Watauga, and staff at all of them are on TRS-ActiveCare, which uses the BlueCross BlueShield of Texas network. Lyte Psychiatry is in that network. Send a photo of your card when you book and we will confirm the copay, and whether your particular plan wants a referral, before you are seen.
Can I do follow-up visits by video from a Mid-Cities office instead of driving to Pantego?
Yes, from a private room or a parked car, and please not from the TEXRail platform. A commuter who leaves North Richland Hills for SH-121, Loop 820, or the DFW Airport corridor can fit a video medication check into a lunch break. The single visit that has to be in person is the first evaluation when a stimulant for ADHD is being started. Therapy and every other visit type can be video from day one.
Where do I park in Pantego, and which way out of North Richland Hills is quickest?
Parking is on site at the Pantego office. The quickest way out depends on your side of town. From Davis Blvd or Smithfield, take Precinct Line Rd south to SH-121, then SH-360 south, and you skip the Loop 820 interchange at Rufe Snow entirely. From Rufe Snow or the City Point area, Loop 820 east straight to SH-360 is shorter. The final leg on Park Row Dr is a city street with no toll.
Can my family in North Richland Hills book a Spanish-language video visit?
Yes. Video visits are available in Spanish; ask when you book. Mention it at scheduling so the first visit is set up with the right clinician. A household off Rufe Snow can pair a parent's visit in Spanish with a Richland High student's visit in English on the same account.
Nearby areas we also serve
Explore care across Dallas-Fort Worth & North Texas or all Texas locations.
We also see patients from Hurst, Euless and Bedford, Haltom City, Fort Worth, and Arlington, and our office page for Pantego has directions.
Free and low-cost mental health resources in North Richland Hills
For a crisis at any hour, call or text 988. The emergency department at Medical City North Hills, 4401 Booth Calloway Rd, is the place to go if you or your child are in immediate danger. Outside of a crisis, if you have no insurance and a serious diagnosis, MHMR of Tarrant County is the public mental health authority for Tarrant County and the right first call. Families with a student in Birdville ISD can also ask the campus counselor what district-level support exists.
If you have insurance or the self-pay rate in hand and want an appointment this week, book online or call 469-733-0848. Start in Pantego or on video, and the provider you meet first is the one you keep.
Find the public mental health authority for your county through the Texas HHS local authority directory.