If you are in immediate danger or thinking about harming yourself, get help now. Visit a nearby emergency service, hospital, or mental health clinic. If you are in crisis, these helplines can help:
Crisis numbers
- the United States of America:
- the United Kingdom:
- Samaritans: Tel: 116 123 (Free from any phone) | Tel: 0808 164 0123 (Welsh Language Line) | Tel: 18001 44 116 123 (Relay UK). 24 hours. The Welsh Language Line is open every day, 7pm to 11pm.
- Shout, text 85258: Text: 85258. 24 hours.
- India:
- Tele-MANAS: Tel: 14416 | Tel: 1-800 891 4416. 24 hours.
- Vandrevala Foundation Helpline: Tel: +91 9999 666 555 | WhatsApp: +91 9999 666 555. 24 hours.
- Canada:
- 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline: Tel: 9-8-8 | Text: 9-8-8. 24 hours.
- Hope for Wellness Help Line: Tel: 1-855-242-3310. 24 hours. For Indigenous people across Canada.
- South Africa:
- SADAG Suicide Crisis Helpline: Tel: 0800 567 567. 24 hours.
- Cipla Mental Health Helpline: Tel: 0800 456 789 (24 hours) | Text: 31393 | WhatsApp: 076 882 2775 (8am to 5pm). 24 hours.
- the Philippines:
- NCMH Crisis Hotline: Tel: 1553 (Nationwide) | Tel: 1800-1888-1553 (Nationwide) | Tel: 0919-057-1553 (SMART/TNT). 24 hours.
- Hopeline, suicide and emotional crisis line: Tel: 02-8804-4673 | Tel: 0917-558-4673 | Tel: 0918-873-4673. 24 hours.
- Australia:
- Lifeline 13 11 14: Tel: 13 11 14 | Text: 0477 13 11 14. 24 hours.
- Suicide Call Back Service: Tel: 1300 659 467. 24 hours. For ages 15 and over.
- Germany:
- TelefonSeelsorge, for anyone who needs to talk: Tel: 0800 1110111 | Tel: 0800 1110222 | Tel: 116 123. 24 hours.
- MuTeS, Muslim pastoral and crisis line: Tel: 030 443 509 821. 24 hours.
- Saudi Arabia:
- Psychological Consultation Centre: Tel: 920033360
- Ireland:
- Samaritans, for whatever you're going through: Tel: 116 123. 24 hours.
- Pieta 24-Hour Crisis Helpline: Tel: 1800 247 247 | Text: 51444 (Text HELP). 24 hours.
- Iran:
- France:
- 3114, the national suicide prevention number: Tel: 3114
- Spain:
- Línea 024 de atención a la conducta suicida, for people with suicidal thoughts and their families: Tel: 024 | Chat: www2.cruzroja.es. 24 hours.
- Teléfono de la Esperanza crisis line: Tel: 717 003 717 (Mobile number) | Tel: 914 59 00 55 (Landline). 24 hours.
- New Zealand:
- 1737 Need to Talk?: Tel: 1737 | Text: 1737 | Tel: 0800 1737 1737 (Call (0800 number)). 24 hours. Not a crisis team, and not a service for severe mental illness or distress. Offers brief emotional support.
- Depression Helpline: Tel: 0800 111 757 | Text: 4202. 24 hours.
- Sweden:
- Självmordslinjen, suicide helpline: Tel: 90101 | Chat: mind.se. 24 hours.
- Hjälplinjen, mental health support line: Tel: 90390 | Tel: 0202-90390 (Call (long number)). 24 hours. For people over 18.
- Switzerland:
- Die Dargebotene Hand, emotional support line: Tel: 143 | Tel: 0800 143 000 (English, 6pm to 11pm). 24 hours. Mainly for adults.
- Pro Mente Sana telephone counselling, for people with mental health problems and relatives: Tel: 0848 800 858. For adults. Weekdays 9am to noon; also Monday to Wednesday 4.30pm to 7.30pm, and Thursday and Friday 2pm to 5pm.
- Croatia:
- Telefon za psihološku pomoć (TESA), psychological counselling by phone: Tel: 01 48 28 888. Weekdays, 10am to 10pm; closed for a summer break.
- Linija pomoći Plavi telefon: Tel: 01/4833-888. Weekdays, 10am to 2pm.
- Japan:
- Anata no Ibasho chat (あなたのいばしょチャット相談), free anonymous counselling for anyone: Chat: talkme.jp. 24 hours.
- Inochi no Denwa (いのちの電話), suicide prevention helpline: Tel: 0120-783-556 (Freephone) | Tel: 0570-783-556 (Navi Dial (charged)). Freephone daily 4pm to 9pm, and 24 hours from 8am on the 10th of each month; Navi Dial daily 10am to 10pm, charged.
- Poland:
- Centrum Wsparcia, psychological support for anyone: Tel: 800 70 2222. 24 hours.
- Linia Wsparcia dla Funkcjonariuszy i Pracowników Służb Mundurowych, Ratownictwa Medycznego i ich Rodzin, for uniformed services and their families: Tel: 800 70 2430. 24 hours.
- Pakistan:
- Sehat Tahaffuz 1166, the national health helpline (with the Humraaz mental health service): Tel: 1166
- Taskeen Helpline: Tel: +92 316 827 5336. Appointment-based: a coordinator takes the call and books a session with a psychologist. Monday to Saturday, 11am to 11pm.
- 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
- Sri Lanka:
- Malaysia:
- MIASA_YSD-1800 Crisis Helpline: Tel: 1800 180 066 | WhatsApp: 03-9765 6088. 24 hours.
- Talian HEAL 15555, mental health crisis line: Tel: 15555. Every day, including public holidays.
- Bangladesh:
- Kaan Pete Roi, 3 PM to 3 AM every day: Tel: +880 9612-119911
- Lebanon:
- National Lifeline 1564: Tel: 1564. 24 hours.
- Vietnam:
- Đường dây nóng Ngày mai, free psychological support by phone: Tel: 096.306.1414. Wednesday to Sunday, 1pm to 8:30pm.
- Hy Vọng Sống (HOPE), suicide prevention helpline: Tel: 086 50 444 00. Every day, 12 noon to midnight.
- Botswana:
- BOFWA 24 Hour Youth Helpline: Tel: 16658. 24 hours.
- Cyprus:
- Cyprus Samaritans, emotional support for distress or loneliness: Tel: 80007773. Adults only; every day, 4pm to midnight.
- Portugal:
- Linha Nacional de Prevenção do Suicídio 1411, for suicidal thoughts and self-harm: Tel: 1411. 24 hours. Under-18s need a parent's or guardian's consent.
- SNS 24 psychological counselling: Tel: 808242424 (then option 4). 24 hours. Not meant for suicide risk: the line passes such a call to the emergency medical service at once.
- Egypt:
- The national psychological support hotline: Tel: 16328
- Oman:
- Uganda:
- Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital, 0800 211 306: Tel: 0800 211 306, toll free.
- Namibia:
- LifeLine/ChildLine Namibia 106 Gender-Based Violence HelpLine: Tel: 106 | Text: 081 398 5510. 8am to 8pm.
- Tanzania:
- Singapore:
- national mindline 1771, mental health helpline: Tel: 1771 | WhatsApp: +6566691771 (WhatsApp chat). 24 hours.
- Samaritans of Singapore 24-hour Hotline 1767 and CareText, emotional support for people in distress: Tel: 1767 | WhatsApp: 9151 1767 (WhatsApp (CareText)). 24 hours.
- Not a local line: helplines and suicide hotlines worldwide
How to find the right psychiatrist
This page lists psychiatrists near you with appointments open. Filter the list, then read the profiles. Look for experience with your condition. Check whether they work with medication only or also provide therapy, and whether they see people in a room, online, or both.
Before you contact a psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a doctor who has gone on to specialise in mental health. The medical training is the difference: a psychiatrist can look for physical causes, prescribe and review medication, and take responsibility for the medical side of treatment. Many also offer talking therapy.
People are usually sent to a psychiatrist when a condition is severe, when the picture is unclear, when medication is being considered or changed, or when a physical illness and a mental health difficulty are tangled together. For a first stretch of low mood or worry, many national guidelines recommend psychological treatment as the first step, and medication is added to it rather than started with.
Expect a long first appointment, with questions about symptoms, medical history, anything you already take, alcohol and other substances, and illness in the family. You may be asked for tests. Later appointments are usually shorter and further apart, and their purpose is to review how the treatment is working.
A listing is not a referral, and this page is not medical care.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a psychiatrist?
A psychiatrist's medical training is what allows them to prescribe. It also allows them to weigh a medicine against your physical health and anything else you take.
The psychiatrist manages the medicine and your physical health together. Some psychiatrists provide therapy as well as medication, and the profile says which.
Many people see a psychiatrist for the medication and a psychologist for the therapy. The two work alongside each other.
In many places a psychiatrist is registered twice: once as a doctor, and again as a specialist. The specialist entry is the one that names the specialty. Check the specialist register, not only the medical one, and check which specialty it names.
When is a psychiatrist the right person to see?
When you are thinking about medication. When symptoms have not shifted with therapy alone. When a diagnosis is unclear, or a condition needs medical management alongside therapy. For milder difficulties therapy alone is often enough, and a psychiatrist will say so.
What happens in the appointment?
The first appointment is a medical assessment. The psychiatrist asks about your symptoms, your history, your physical health, and any other medicine you take. They then set out what they think is going on, and what the options are. That includes what each one risks.
Later appointments are shorter and are about how the treatment is working: what has changed, what side effects you have, and whether anything needs adjusting. Some psychiatrists also provide therapy, and those appointments are longer.
How do I choose?
Read the profile and check the specialist register where the person practises. Ask whether they work with medication only or also provide therapy. Ask how often they would want to see you.
We have written at more length on how to find the right therapist.
A psychiatrist should set out the options, the risks and the alternatives, and decide with you rather than for you.
Can I see a psychiatrist online?
Many psychiatrists work online as well as in a room, and the profile says which. What a psychiatrist may prescribe remotely is set by the rules where they practise. Some require a first appointment in person. Ask before you book.
What should I ask about side effects and stopping?
Ask about side effects and stopping directly in the first appointment, and expect a straight answer.
Most medicines have possible side effects, and many settle. Your psychiatrist should tell you what to watch for, what to report at once, and when to expect an effect.
Stopping is a separate question from side effects. Your body can adjust to a medicine you have taken for a while. That is why stopping suddenly can make you unwell, even when the medicine is not addictive.
Ask, before you start, how you would come off it, and for a plan to do it gradually. Practitioners call that a taper.
Some classes do carry a risk of dependence, benzodiazepines among them, and are usually prescribed for short periods. Ask which class you are being offered and how long it is meant to run.
Related pages
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)
TherapyRoute is not for emergencies and does not provide medical advice. All of our content is informational and cannot replace professional healthcare. In an emergency, contact a local emergency service. For immediate support, consider a local helpline.
