How Much Does Therapy Cost in Bangalore? (2025)

What therapy costs in Bangalore in 2026

A private therapy session in Bangalore typically costs ₹1,000 to ₹3,000. Newly qualified psychologists charge from around ₹800. Experienced specialists, particularly in trauma or clinical work, charge ₹3,000 to ₹6,000 or more. Online sessions usually cost less than seeing someone in person, from about ₹800.

These are guiding estimates. Therapists set their own fees.

Based on prices found advertised on multiple blogs, not official authoritative sources. Use with caution.

There is also a public route, and in Bangalore it is unusually good. A first appointment at NIMHANS costs ₹100, and the national mental health helpline is free. Both are covered below.

What moves the price

The main driver is the practitioner's experience, not their address.

• Newly qualified psychologists generally charge ₹800 to ₹2,500.
• Psychologists with a few years' practice charge around ₹1,500 to ₹3,000.
• Experienced specialists charge ₹3,000 to ₹6,000 or more.

Most sessions run 45 to 60 minutes. Some practitioners offer shorter 30-minute follow-ups at a lower fee, which is worth asking about if you are managing an ongoing course of treatment rather than starting one.

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who can diagnose and prescribe medication. A clinical psychologist provides assessment and talking therapy and cannot prescribe. A counsellor or counselling psychologist works with day-to-day difficulties and generally charges less. Which you need depends on what you are bringing, and a first consultation is often the fastest way to find out.

The public route, and what it asks of you

This is the part of the picture that most cost guides leave out, and in Bangalore it matters more than anywhere else in India.

NIMHANS

The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences is in Bangalore, and it is India's foremost mental health institution. Its outpatient department runs on a walk-in basis.

You register at the Screening block between 8.00am and 11.30am, Monday to Saturday, and pay ₹100 for a screening slip. If you ask to see a psychiatrist you are sent to one directly. If you are not sure whether the difficulty is psychiatric or neurological, a medical officer will screen you and direct you appropriately. From there you are either sent for a detailed evaluation the same day, or assessed, started on treatment, and given an appointment for a fuller assessment in a few weeks. Patients arriving with a referral letter from a doctor are given preference at a separate counter.

So the money cost is ₹100. The real cost is time and persistence: arriving early, queueing, and being prepared for a system that sees very large numbers of people. For many that trade is worth making, particularly for complex or severe difficulties, where NIMHANS's concentration of specialist expertise is hard to match in private practice.

Tele-MANAS, free on 14416

The National Tele Mental Health Programme runs a toll-free helpline on 14416, available 24 hours a day in 20 Indian languages. It is free. Trained counsellors handle the call, and where needed they escalate to psychiatrists and psychologists, including referral for urgent care. Karnataka was among the first states where video consultation was introduced.

This is a genuine service rather than a switchboard, and it is the right first call if you are unsure where to start, cannot afford private fees, or need someone now.

Government hospitals and health schemes

Government hospitals provide psychiatric care at nominal cost, and central and state health schemes cover employees and their families to varying degrees. Cover under private health insurance is a more complicated question and we have not been able to verify what most policies pay for outpatient therapy, so ask your insurer directly rather than assuming.

Why these figures come with a caution

Indian mental health providers rarely publish their fees. Most of the ranges above come from prices advertised across a number of Indian websites and market guides rather than from published schedules, which is why the caution sits at the top of this page.

They are a fair guide to what people are paying, and they are consistent across sources. They are not quotes. Ask about the fee directly when you first make contact, and ask whether it changes for a shorter session or an online one.

Questions worth asking before you book

• What is the fee, and how long is the session?
• Is the first consultation charged differently from later ones?
• Do you offer shorter follow-up sessions at a lower fee?
• Is an online session cheaper?
• Are you a psychiatrist, a clinical psychologist or a counsellor, and what is your registration?
• Do you keep any reduced-fee places?
• Roughly how many sessions do you expect this to take?

Sources

• NIMHANS, Psychiatry OPD: the ₹100 screening slip, the 8.00 to 11.30am walk-in hours, and how a new patient is seen.
• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Tele MANAS: Revolutionizing Mental Health Care in India: the 14416 helpline, that it is free and 24/7, the 20 languages, and the services offered.

Reviewed July 2026. The private ranges are drawn from prices advertised online rather than from published fee schedules, because Bangalore providers do not generally publish them. The public-sector figures are from the institutions themselves.