How Much Does Therapy Cost in Metro Manila in 2026?

Private therapy in Metro Manila costs roughly ₱1,500 to ₱5,000 a session, at the upper end of the national range. A licensed counsellor is cheaper than a licensed psychologist, who is cheaper than a psychiatrist.

These are guiding estimates. Therapists set their own fees.

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

Metro Manila is the most expensive place in the Philippines to see someone privately. It is also, by a wide margin, the place with the most free and low-cost options, and those are covered below. If you live here, the gap between what you could pay and what you need to pay is larger than anywhere else in the country.

Your PhilHealth benefit, and where it goes furthest

PhilHealth's Outpatient Benefits Package for Mental Health provides ₱9,000 a year for general mental health services and ₱16,000 for specialised care, for members and dependants aged 10 and above. It covers initial assessments, follow-up consultations, diagnostic tests and psychosocial support, with follow-up visits capped at twelve a year in both packages.

One split matters if you want talking therapy: the ₱9,000 general package does not cover psychotherapy. Psychotherapy sits in the ₱16,000 specialty package, which is claimed at level 3 hospitals, and neither package pays at an unaccredited private clinic in Makati or BGC.

The general package is claimed at accredited facilities: rural health units, city and municipal health offices, level 1 and 2 hospitals, and Department of Health mental health access sites. Most private practices in the business districts are not accredited. Ask before your first appointment rather than after it.

What Metro Manila has that the rest of the country does not

Over forty DOH mental health access sites

The Department of Health operates mental health access sites offering free medication, alongside free consultations, medical services and referrals. More than forty of them are in Metro Manila.

This is one of the most under-used routes in the capital, and it addresses the cost that recurs. One consultation is a single expense. Medication for a long-term condition is monthly, and for most people it is the larger burden over a year.

The National Center for Mental Health

The NCMH sits in Mandaluyong City, at 9 De Pebrero Street, Barangay Mauway. It is a Department of Health special training and research hospital, mandated to provide a comprehensive range of mental health services nationwide, and it runs child and adolescent psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, women and children protection, and crisis management alongside general adult psychiatry.

Its crisis hotline, 0917-899-8727, is free, confidential and staffed around the clock by crisis responders who can refer you to a licensed psychiatrist.

University clinics

The Ateneo de Manila's Bulatao Center for Psychology Services, in the Bellarmine Building at Loyola Heights, Quezon City, offers counselling, psychotherapy, play therapy, psychosocial debriefing, skills training and support groups.

It also runs free provision: a programme delivering non-specialised psychosocial support online across one or two sessions, staffed by graduate students who are recruited, trained and mentored for it, and a Community-Based Services arm providing free services at community level.

The Philippine Mental Health Association

The PMHA is a private non-profit that has been running for over seventy-five years, with its national office in Quezon City and chapters around the country. Its Clinical and Intervention Service department provides counselling and psychological services. Fees are arranged directly, so ask when you enquire.

Government hospital clinics

Psychiatric outpatient clinics at government hospitals generally take walk-in patients during clinic hours, and most do not require a referral. Bring any existing medical records, your PhilHealth ID and Member Data Record, and a valid ID.

Two other helplines

Alongside the NCMH line, two further services are verified as current: Hopeline on 0917-558-4673, and In Touch Community Services on 0917-800-1123.

Does the district change the price?

Somewhat, and less precisely than people assume.

Practices in Makati, Bonifacio Global City and Ortigas charge at the top of the range, reflecting commercial rents and the clientele those districts serve. Practices further out charge less. But the difference between two psychologists in the same building is often larger than the difference between two districts, because the fee tracks the practitioner's training and experience more than the address.

We are not publishing a price list by district, because we have no evidence that would support one. If cost is the constraint, the useful move is not to change neighbourhood. It is to use the free routes above, to see a licensed counsellor rather than a psychiatrist where that suits the difficulty, or to ask directly about a reduced fee.

Questions worth asking before you book

• Are you a psychiatrist, a licensed psychologist, a licensed counsellor or a psychometrician?
• What is the fee, and how long is the session?
• Is the first consultation charged differently?
• Are you PhilHealth accredited, and can you claim against the outpatient mental health benefit?
• Are you accredited with my HMO, and how many sessions does my plan cover?
• Do you offer online sessions, and are they cheaper?
• Do you hold any reduced-fee places?

Sources

• PhilHealth, Outpatient Benefits Package for Mental Health (Circular 2023-0018): the ₱9,000 and ₱16,000 annual amounts, eligibility, covered services and the list of accredited facility types.
• National Center for Mental Health, services and facilities and contact.
• Philippine Information Agency, free mental health medications in Metro Manila.
• Ateneo de Manila University, Bulatao Center for Psychology Services.
• Philippine Mental Health Association, pmha.org.ph.

Reviewed July 2026. PhilHealth amounts are from the national insurer's own published package and are revised periodically. Private session figures are drawn from prices advertised online rather than published fee schedules, because Philippine practitioners do not generally publish them.