Dallas, TX — July, 2026 — The average American waits 67 days to see a psychiatrist. In Texas, where 170 of 254 counties have no psychiatrist at all, many wait longer or give up. Lyte Psychiatry, a Dallas–Fort Worth practice serving Texas and New Mexico, is seeing most new patients within one to two business days, and says the fix wasn't hiring more doctors. It was removing the phone.
A 2023 study in General Hospital Psychiatry found that when researchers posing as patients called 948 psychiatrists across five states, only 18.5 percent were accepting new patients. Those who got through waited a median of 67 days for an in-person appointment, or 43 days by video.
"People don't call a psychiatrist the first week they feel bad. They call after months of pushing through it and then we tell them to wait nine more weeks," said Toyin Awe, psychiatrist nurse practitioner at Lyte Psychiatry. "By that point, some of them are in crisis. The wait isn't an inconvenience. It's a clinical risk."
Lyte's model targets the bottlenecks the study exposed. Patients see live appointment availability online instead of leaving voicemails. Video visits let clinicians licensed in Texas and New Mexico treat patients in counties that have no psychiatrist within a hundred miles. Psychiatric nurse practitioners, supervised by a board-certified psychiatrist, absorb demand that would otherwise sit on a waitlist. And the practice verifies insurance before the first visit — it is in-network with BlueCross BlueShield, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, Aetna, Ambetter, Tricare, and Medicare, with most patients paying between $0 and $30 per visit.
The stakes in Texas are unusually high. State data shows 246 of 254 counties are federally designated mental health professional shortage areas, and roughly 42 percent of the state's psychiatrists are expected to reach retirement age within a decade. The practice has published a guide to psychiatrist wait times in Texas breaking down the data and the fastest routes to an appointment.
"Telehealth was supposed to solve this, and mostly it moved the waitlist online," Toyin Awe DNP said. "The waitlist itself is the product failure. If a patient can see an open slot and book it in two minutes, most of the access problem disappears."
Since opening, the practice has treated more than 3,000 patients across Texas and New Mexico for conditions including depression, anxiety, ADHD, PTSD, and bipolar disorder, holding a 4.9-star average patient rating. It offers in-person care at its Pantego clinic in the DFW metroplex and video appointments statewide in both states.
About Lyte Psychiatry
Lyte Psychiatry provides psychiatry, medication management, and therapy for adults, teens, and children ages 6 and up — in person in the Dallas–Fort Worth area and by video across Texas and New Mexico. The practice is in-network with most major insurance plans and offers same-week appointments, often same-day. Learn more at lytepsych.com or call (469) 733-0848.
Media contact:
Ana R
Lyte Psychiatry
info@lytepsych.com
(469) 733-0848
If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, free and available 24/7.