Find a Therapist in Nairobi, Kenya

The profiles listed above are practitioners who consult in Nairobi, or who name Nairobi as an area they work in. You can narrow the list by profession, by the difficulties someone works with, by language, by client group and by identity.

You can also filter for practitioners who work online. Open a profile to send an enquiry, ask for a number, or book, where those buttons are shown.

Read how to choose a therapist

For extra reassurance, you can check anyone listed here on the register for their profession. One statutory body regulates counselling and psychology in Kenya, the Counsellors and Psychologists Board, under the Counsellors and Psychologists Act, 2014. The titles counsellor and psychologist are protected, and using either without registration is an offence.

A practitioner also needs a current practising licence, and the law gives an unlicensed person no way to make you pay for the work. Psychiatrists are doctors and answer to the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council.

You can open the Board's eCitizen verification service, or open the KMPDC registers. Some practitioners in Kenya also belong to a professional association, such as the Kenya Psychological Association or the Kenya Association of Professional Counsellors.

Belonging to an association is not the same as being on a statutory register. Everyone listed must be qualified for the work they offer. Whether that qualification is also a licence depends on the profession.

A tick beside a registration, qualification or membership means we have seen evidence for that entry, not that we endorse the practitioner. The Verified mark means we have run a closer check on that practitioner's documents.

The practitioner pays for that check, and it fails if the documents do not pass. Of the 243 practitioners listed in Nairobi, 45 carry the Verified mark.

Read how we review and verify listings

Therapist covers anyone who offers talk-based help with emotional and relationship difficulties. The word says nothing about training. A psychologist is trained in the study of the mind and behaviour, and works by assessment and talk therapy.

Where the title is protected, it usually takes a postgraduate qualification in psychology and registration with the body that governs the profession. Counsellors and psychotherapists work by talk therapy as well, and what their training requires depends on the title and on where you are.

As a rule of thumb: if medicine may be part of the answer, start with a psychiatrist. For an assessment or a formal report, start with a psychologist. For regular talking work on something in your life, a counsellor or a psychotherapist can take that on.

The profession filter above shows which of these are listed here. In Kenya, counsellor and psychologist are protected titles, and using either without registration is an offence. Therapist is not protected, so the word on its own says nothing about training.

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor and is registered separately. Psychiatrists can prescribe medicine, which is the main practical difference between them and the other three. The titles that carry legal weight are the registered ones.

Where a title is not registered, anyone may use it, so the register is what tells you what training sits behind the word.

Read which professional titles are protected in Kenya

Therapy fees in Kenya depend on the practitioner you see and on how you pay. Kenya's NHIF no longer exists. It was replaced by the Social Health Authority under the Social Health Insurance Act No. 16 of 2023, so any page telling you what NHIF covers describes a dissolved scheme.

Funding runs through the Social Health Insurance Fund. Register with the Authority, then start at a primary care clinic it pays for. That clinic can refer you to Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital in Nairobi or a county psychiatric clinic.

Privately, fees track a therapist's profession and seniority, with counsellors generally charging less than psychologists and psychiatrists, as medical specialists, the most. Each practitioner sets their own fee, not any figure on this page. Their profile shows their fee structure where they have given one; ask them for the fee.

An online session is usually not much cheaper than one in a consulting room. Practitioners commonly charge the same rate either way, so you save the travelling and the time around it. The funded route runs through public and contracted facilities the Authority has empanelled, and it starts at primary care rather than at a private practice.

How to think about the cost of therapy in Kenya

In Nairobi the list includes counsellors, who generally charge less than clinical psychologists. Many practitioners keep a few reduced-fee places. They set the reduction themselves after asking about your income, so ask rather than assume.

Group therapy costs less per session, and for a number of difficulties it works as well as individual work. In Kenya, free help is also there before any private fee. Befrienders Kenya runs a free, confidential support line, by call, SMS or WhatsApp, Monday to Friday.

Kenya's crisis numbers are listed at the top of this page. Amani Counselling Centre in Nairobi offers individual, family and trauma counselling, booked by phone or WhatsApp. Basic Needs Basic Rights Kenya runs community mental health programmes in Nairobi, Bungoma and Kilifi counties.

In Nairobi itself, Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital - General Mental Health Outpatient Services is one place to ask. Phone +254 20 2337694. Kenya's Social Health Authority covers mental health care in its benefits package. Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital is accredited by the Authority and says so in its own public material. To use that cover you must be registered with the Authority, and what it pays for is set by its benefit rules. The hospital runs an ordinary outpatient clinic from Monday to Friday. Ring the hospital's enquiries line to arrange an appointment. It is an enquiries line, not a crisis line. Details change, so confirm with the service before you go.

Kenya's Social Health Authority publishes a Mental Wellness Benefit Package that names counselling and psychosocial support among the services it covers⁴.

Read how to find affordable therapy

For most common difficulties the research puts video sessions close to in-person work. It holds on the same condition as any therapy: the relationship between the two of you has to be a good one. It suits you if you live far from a practitioner, have little room in a week, or want a choice your own town cannot offer. It suits some situations less well, and a practitioner should say so.

A practitioner usually suggests meeting in person where there is immediate risk to safety, or nowhere private to talk. Text-based and on-demand app services do cost less, and they are a different product, not a cheaper version of the same one.

The evidence behind them is thinner than for regular psychotherapy. They often sell messaging rather than a scheduled hour with one practitioner who knows your history. Filter the list above for online availability to see who offers it here.

Read the evidence on how well online therapy works

Yes. An ethical code requires a registered practitioner to keep what you say private. A professional body's code binds its members too. In Kenya a registered counsellor or psychologist answers to the Counsellors and Psychologists Board for professional misconduct, and the Act sets out what that covers.

You can open the Board's eCitizen verification service. The limits are narrow and commonly include a serious and immediate danger to you or to another person, and abuse of a child or of a vulnerable adult.

A court can also order it disclosed in some circumstances. A claim to an insurer usually carries some information with it. A practitioner should set those limits out in the first session. You are entitled to ask where the line sits before you say anything you would rather keep private.

The first session is an orientation and a brief assessment, and usually lasts about an hour. The therapist will ask what brings you, say how they work, and go through confidentiality, fees and practical arrangements. You can ask about their approach and experience. You do not need to prepare anything; come as you are.

Whether it is a good fit matters more than any technique. Therapy works better when the working relationship is strong,³ and that relationship usually takes a few sessions to settle, so give it time before deciding.

Read our guide on What is Therapy?

The person matters as much as the method. The names you will come across include cognitive behavioural therapy, psychodynamic therapy, EMDR, family therapy and couples therapy. The nature of the difficulty shapes the choice, and so does whether you want something short and focused or something open-ended. It also depends on how much of the past you want to work with, and what you can sustain in time and money.

A trained practitioner will say what they think would suit, and say so when they are not the right person.

Read how to pick the therapy that suits you

You do not need a diagnosis to benefit from therapy.¹ Therapy helps when something is not working and you want to think it through with someone. If you want change, support, or clarity, therapy is a reasonable place to start.

Therapy can help with:

• Personal growth to build confidence, self-understanding, and emotional maturity²
• Low mood, worry, emptiness, or irritability
• Relationship strain and conflict
• Support for your child or teenager
• Big changes like job loss, bereavement, relocation, or divorce

About one person in eight lives with a mental health condition, and many more face stress or want more from life.¹ You do not need to wait for a crisis.

Read our guide on Who Needs Therapy?

Choosing an independent therapist in Nairobi gives you more control. You approach them directly. Nobody is assigned to you. The two of you agree the goals and the way of working together. Independent practitioners can adjust the approach, the pace and the session length to what you need. Fewer parties are involved in your care, and you can see the same clinician over time, which supports deeper work.