READ THIS FIRST. If you are in immediate danger or thinking about harming yourself, please get help now. Visit a nearby emergency service, hospital, or mental health clinic immediately. If you are in crisis, consider these helplines and suicide hotlines worldwide.
Crisis numbers in Nigeria
- She Writes Woman, 0800 800 2000, 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, published as 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
Life Camp has 1 therapist listed on TherapyRoute.
A practitioner appears here either because they consult in Life Camp or because they name it as an area they cover. That can include someone working from another town.
Where the list here is short, the online filter widens the search. Video sessions avoid the travel between cities that a weekly appointment would otherwise require.
The Nigeria page lists every city we cover, and the accordion below answers what the professional titles mean and how fees usually work.
What a session costs varies with training, setting and where the practice is. How to think about the cost of therapy in Nigeria sets out the current picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I find a therapist in Life Camp?
The profiles listed above are practitioners who consult in Life Camp, or who name Life Camp 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. That matters when the fit of the person counts for as much as the method.
You can also filter for people who work online. That opens up the list without changing what you are looking for. Choosing well is a question of its own, and we have written about what to weigh.
Is this a list of registered and licensed therapists in Life Camp?
Nigeria regulates mental-health care in a mixed way. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor, licensed by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria. That council keeps the register of practitioners and holds the protected medical titles.
Occupational therapists and speech therapists answer to the Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board of Nigeria, and psychiatric nurses to the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria. For a psychologist, counsellor or psychotherapist there is no statutory register to check, so ask about qualifications, supervision and any professional-body membership. Verify with Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board of Nigeria (MRTB) or Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN).
Some practitioners in Nigeria also belong to a professional association, such as the Nigerian Psychological Association or the Counselling Association of Nigeria. An association can set standards for its own members, and that is not 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. Where a profession is registered, that register is the check worth making before you book.
Should I see a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a therapist or a counsellor?
Therapist covers everyone who offers talk-based help for emotional and relationship difficulties, and it tells you nothing on its own 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 their training runs from a short course to years of supervised practice. In Nigeria, psychologist, counsellor and psychotherapist are open words with no statutory register behind them. The protected medical titles are physician, surgeon and doctor.
Psychiatrist is not itself protected, but a psychiatrist must be a registered medical doctor. 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.
How much does therapy cost in Life Camp?
What a therapist charges in Nigeria is not something anyone publishes. Private therapists set their own fees, and no Nigerian professional body issues a fee schedule, so pages quoting exact naira rates are quoting themselves rather than a source. The public route runs through the federal neuropsychiatric hospitals and the psychiatric departments of teaching hospitals, and none of those publishes a fee either.
The most reliable step is to ring the hospital nearest you and ask what registration and a therapy consultation cost. What health insurance covers varies plan by plan, so check yours before booking. What a particular practitioner charges is set by them, not by any figure on this page.
Their profile lists a fee where they have given one, and asking them is the way to be sure. An online session is usually not much cheaper than one in a consulting room. Practitioners commonly charge the same rate either way, so what you save is the travelling and the time around the appointment.
In Nigeria the National Health Insurance Authority Act, 2022 makes health insurance mandatory in law. Enrolment is far from universal, so whether you are covered depends on your employer, on your state scheme or on your own registration.
What are more affordable or low-cost therapy options in Life Camp?
Cost stops many people before they start, and there is usually more than one rung below the full private fee. Many practitioners keep a few reduced-fee places. They set the reduction themselves after asking about your income, so it is worth asking rather than assuming the answer.
Group therapy costs less per session, and for a number of difficulties it works as well as individual work. Publicly funded clinics and non-profit services exist in many countries, and will often see someone without a referral.
Is online therapy a good option?
For most common difficulties the research puts video sessions close to in-person work. That holds on the same condition that governs the rest of therapy: the working relationship between the two of you has to be a good one. It suits people who live far from a practitioner, who have little room in a week, or who want a choice their own town cannot offer.
It suits some situations less well, and a practitioner should say so. Immediate risk to safety, and having nowhere private to talk, are the usual reasons a practitioner suggests meeting in person. Text-based and on-demand app services do cost less, and they are a different product rather than a cheaper version of the same one.
The evidence behind them is thinner than for regular psychotherapy. What is being sold is often messaging rather than a scheduled hour with one practitioner who knows your history. Filtering the list above for online availability shows who offers it here.
Are therapy sessions confidential?
Yes. Confidentiality is the condition that makes the rest of therapy possible. A registered practitioner works inside an ethical code that requires them to keep what you say private.
Someone who belongs to a professional body is bound by that body's code as well. The limits are narrow. They 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 order or a subpoena can also compel disclosure. 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.
What should I expect in the first session?
The first session is an orientation and a brief assessment, usually 50 to 60 minutes. The therapist will ask what brings you, say how they work, and go through confidentiality, fees and practical arrangements. It is also your chance to 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. People do better in therapy when the working relationship is strong,3 and that relationship usually takes a few sessions to settle, so give it a little time before deciding.
To learn more, read our guide on What is Therapy?
Which type of therapy should I look for in Life Camp?
There is no single answer, and the honest version is that the match between you and the practitioner matters at least as much as the school they trained in. The names you will come across include cognitive behavioural therapy, psychodynamic therapy, EMDR, family therapy and couples therapy. What shapes the choice is the nature of the difficulty, and 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 first consultation is partly for settling this. Someone trained will ask what brought you there, say what they think would suit, and say so when they are not the right person.
Is therapy for me?
You do not need a diagnosis to benefit from therapy.1 Many people come because something is not working and they want to think it through with someone. If you want change, support, or clarity, therapy is likely for you.
Common reasons people seek therapy:
- 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 1 in 8 people 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.
To learn more, read our guide on Who Needs Therapy?
Why choose an independent therapist?
In Life Camp you choose your own therapist and approach them directly. Nobody is assigned to you, and the two of you agree the goals and the way of working together. An independent practitioner can adjust the approach, the pace and the session length to what you need, rather than working to somebody else's protocol. Fewer parties are involved in your care, and you can see the same clinician over time, which supports deeper work.
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, not to investors or corporate interests. 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)
References
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.
