If you or your child are in immediate danger, or your child has hurt themselves or talked about it, get help now. Visit a nearby emergency service, hospital, or mental health clinic. Child helplines and crisis lines:
Crisis numbers in Nigeria
- She Writes Woman, toll-free and answered at any hour: Tel: 0800 800 2000
- SURPIN, Suicide Research and Prevention Initiative: Toll-free: +234-8000787746 | Tel: +234-908-021-7555 | Tel: +234-903-440-0009 | Tel: +234-814-224-1007
- Lagos Lifeline, from Lagos State, 24 hours: Tel: 070 0000 6463, the toll-free line | Tel: 020 1410 6463 | WhatsApp: 090 9000 6463
- Asido Foundation, Ibadan: Tel: +234 902 808 0416 | Tel: +234 818 077 7458 | WhatsApp: +234 902 808 0416
- All crisis lines in Nigeria
This page lists Child Psychologists in Lagos. 4 in all.
How therapy with children works
Therapy with children follows how children communicate. That is more often through play than through explaining.
Parents bring children about worry, low mood, or behaviour at home or school. Other children come after a family change, or after something frightening.
It is not a school assessment, and it is not a report on parenting.
What a psychologist does, and where assessment fits in
Everyone on this page is listed under the professional title psychologist. Psychologists apply the study of the mind and behaviour to assist people through difficulty. Clinical psychologists work with people of all ages, with families, carers, teams and communities.
Assessment belongs to a psychologist's training, and sits alongside therapy. Clinical, counselling and educational psychology are different training routes. Each route emphasises different work.
Which titles are registered varies by country. Where the title is registered, the register says what it covers. Ask a psychologist which route they trained through, and what they work with most.
What this page filters on
These are the only filters: the specialism recorded as Child and the professional title psychologist.
The Lagos page answers more questions about therapy there.
Fees, insurance and lower-cost options
Do affordable options exist in Lagos?
Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Yaba Outpatient Mental Health Services. Phone +234 815 517 0000. The provider marks Clinical Psychology as NHIS accredited and directs patients to use NHIS health-insurance services. The current NHIA benefit statement says beneficiaries do not need cash for treatment except a 10% medicine co-payment, and its live fee-for-service list includes comprehensive psychiatric assessment and psychotherapy. This affordable route is limited to eligible NHIA enrollees. The hospital describes two public entry points for first-time patients. Its outpatient clinics cover adults, addiction, forensic, geriatric, rehabilitation, and children and adolescents. To use the National Health Insurance Authority cover you must be currently enrolled. You can also attend and pay cash.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my child old enough for therapy?
Practitioners see very young children too, in a different form. Play is a natural way for children to communicate their thoughts, feelings, experiences and trauma. The practitioner picks the method to fit the child, not the other way round. Say your child's age at first contact and ask what a practitioner would do.
Will I be told what my child says?
Not all of it, and the arrangement is set before the work starts. Parents are treated as partners in the work rather than kept outside it1. What is shared and what is held differs with the child's age and with local law. Ask a practitioner to set out their arrangement at the first meeting.
What happens in a first session with a child?
Often a practitioner meets the parents first, or the parents and child together. Play, drawing and games are the way in rather than a break from the work. Ask how parents or carers will be involved in the work. Ask before you book.
Is this an assessment for school?
No. This filter lists practitioners who work with children therapeutically. Educational assessments, reports for schools and reports for courts are separate pieces of work, and not every practitioner does them. If a school has asked for a report, say so at first contact and ask whether a practitioner provides one.
Who registers therapists in Nigeria?
See the Nigeria page for the professions that do carry a register there.
What these practitioners record
Sessions here are offered in English and Yoruba.
Nearby places and related listings
References
[1] Landreth, Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship (2012), chapter 9. Parents as partners in play therapy.
Real choice. Authentic, independent, clinician-led care.
TherapyRoute is a clinician-led directory that champions independent practitioners who answer to you and their professional ethics. We don't take commissions, sell your data, or assign therapists by algorithm. You browse, compare, and choose.
Vincenzo (Enzo) Sinisi, Clinical Psychologist (HPCSA), Psychoanalyst (IPA/SAPA), Group Analyst (IGA)


