Free Mental Health Resources in South Africa

Western Cape-Based

• FAMSA Western Cape - A non-profit specialising in relationship and family counselling, community outreach, employee wellness, and professional training. Their services include individual, couples, divorce, and violence-prevention counselling—available online and at multiple offices across Cape Town—using sliding-scale or free fees to support diverse communities 
   
• Cape Mental Health - Delivers comprehensive, community-based mental-health services, including assessment, treatment, rehabilitation, residential care, and skills-development programmes for adults and children with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, alongside public-awareness initiatives.
   
• Waves for Change - Implements evidence-based surf-therapy programmes for vulnerable children and adolescents from under-resourced communities, using the ocean and surfing as tools to improve mental health, coping skills, and overall well-being.
   
• Perinatal Mental Health Project (PMHP) - Focuses on maternal mental health by providing free mental-health services to pregnant and postnatal women in low-resource settings, conducting research, training healthcare workers, and advocating for policy change.
   
• Centre for Public Mental Health (CPMH) - A research and teaching centre dedicated to improving public mental health in South Africa and Africa through policy development, advocacy, postgraduate training, and research into scalable mental-health interventions.
   
• Neurodiversity Centre - Provides multidisciplinary assessments, therapeutic interventions, and support services for neurodivergent individuals (including those with Autism, ADHD, and learning differences) and their families, promoting a neurodiversity-affirming approach.
   
• Help Kids - Delivers therapeutic services, support programmes, and resources aimed at assisting children and adolescents who are facing emotional, behavioural, and developmental challenges, particularly within vulnerable communities.
   
• Community Keepers - Provides school-based mental-health services, including professional counselling, psychosocial support, and life-skills training for learners, educators, and parents in under-resourced schools.

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Johannesburg-Based

• ADHD Online Congress - Organises virtual congresses and events focused on ADHD, bringing together experts, professionals, and the public to share knowledge, research, and best practices.
   
• Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) - Provides trauma counselling and psychosocial support for victims of violence and torture, conducts research, advocacy, and community interventions to prevent violence and promote reconciliation.
   
• Goldilocks & The Bear Foundation for ADHD (gb4adhd) - Delivers support, awareness campaigns, and resources for individuals with ADHD and their families, aiming to improve understanding and management of ADHD.
   
• Mental Health SA - Acts as an informational portal and awareness platform, providing articles, resources, and links to mental-health support services across South Africa.
   
• MentalHealth.org.za - Functions as a central online resource for mental-health information, news, and directories of support services.
   
• Netcare Akeso - Operates a national network of private psychiatric hospitals and clinics offering inpatient and outpatient treatment for a range of mental-health conditions.
   
• Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) - The professional body for psychologists in South Africa, advancing psychology as a science and profession, promoting ethical practice, and advocating for psychological well-being.
   
• SAME Foundation - Improves healthcare infrastructure and services in under-resourced communities, including projects that equip and upgrade mental-health facilities.
   
• South African Bipolar Disorders Association (SABDA) - Provides support groups, education, and advocacy for individuals living with bipolar disorder and their families.
   
• South African Federation for Mental Health (SAFMH) - Conducts national advocacy, awareness campaigns, policy work, and training to promote human rights and destigmatise psychosocial and intellectual disabilities.
   
• The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) - Offers extensive mental-health information, toll-free helplines, support groups, workplace and school programmes, and referrals to mental-health professionals.

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National / Online / International Organisations

• African Alliance for Maternal Mental Health (AAMMH) - An alliance working across Africa to improve maternal mental health through advocacy, research, capacity building, and sharing best practices.
   
• Centre for Global Mental Health - An international collaboration focused on research, capacity building, and influencing policy to widen access to mental-health care in low- and middle-income countries, with active projects in South Africa.
   
• Global Mental Health Peer Network (GMHPN) - Connects individuals with lived experience of mental-health conditions to promote peer support, advocacy, and inclusion of lived-experience perspectives in services and policy worldwide.
   
• HEAL-SA (Health Empowerment and Livelihoods in South Africa) - Focuses on health empowerment and sustainable livelihoods nationally, often integrating mental-health components within broader community-development projects.
   
• Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) - The regulatory body for health professions, including mental-health practitioners, setting standards for education, training, and professional conduct.
   
• Healthcare Workers Care Network - Provides free psychological support, resources, and psycho-education for healthcare workers across South Africa, addressing burnout, stress, and trauma.
   
• Higher Health SA - A national agency dedicated to promoting the health and psychosocial well-being of students in higher-education institutions throughout South Africa.
   
• LifeLine Southern Africa - Offers confidential 24/7 crisis support and counselling through a national network of centres and helplines, addressing emotional distress and suicide prevention.
   
• South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) - The professional body representing psychiatrists in South Africa, promoting psychiatric practice, research, education, and advocating for mental-health services.