Consultation Fees (Clinical or Counselling Psychologist)

Fees for a 60-minute individual consultation with a psychologist range from $218.00 to $359.70 (with GST).

A different fee applies for diagnostics and psychological assessments or tests.

Please read our Terms to understand our fee structure, including our cancellation policy.

Consultation Fees (Others)

Fees for a 60-minute consultation with an Associate Psychologist starts at $141.70 (with GST).

Why are Psychologists expensive? 

We recently did a feature and asked ourselves if therapy was meant to save lives, why is it so expensive? Here’s a full take of that editorial!

The most obvious costs are clinic overheads – rent, basic furnishings (hello IKEA), salaries of support staff, etc.

What is usually less obvious to many is the cost that comes with paying properly educated and qualified Clinical Psychologists. In Singapore, the basic requirement to practise as a Clinical Psychologist is a Master’s Degree. At the minimum, that is a 3-year bachelor’s degree, a 1-year honours degree, and a 2-year master’s degree (3 + 1 + 2 = 6 years).

In jurisdictions where psychology is regulated by national law, a clinical doctorate (a D Psych or similar) is usually required followed by an approved psychology residency or registrar programme. Depending on the jurisdiction, this adds another 2 to 6 years of graduate study and professional training.

All in, the journey towards becoming a properly trained Clinical Psychologist takes anywhere between 7 and 10 years. But this only places a Clinical Psychologist squarely at the start line, with limited real-world experience. Clinical Psychologists often begin their professional careers working in hospitals or other clinical settings.  

Placing a Premium on Mental Health?

Most of us accept the costs that come with seeing a General Practitioner, a Medical Specialist, or a Surgeon. We usually have a sense of the ailments and conditions that might affect our physical health. However, many of us might be less attuned to the ailments that afflict our mental health, and consequently, find the cost of therapy expensive especially when compared to the costs of treating physical ailments.

How are psychology fees priced?

Consultation fees for psychology depend on the level of training and experience of the psychologist. When one takes into account the time spent on education and in professional training, and factors in the experiences that they have accumulated in various hospital, community, and private settings, the costs of hiring a psychologist increase.

A psychology practice also incurs a range of expenses, including practice insurance, continuing psychological education, registration and professional membership fees. These expenses often run into the thousands each year and are necessary to ensure that a psychologist is able to conduct their practice professionally, ethically, and responsibly.

While a client typically pays only for the duration of a session, those fees must also take into account last minute cancellations and no-shows, and time for out of session work such as keeping contemporaneous notes, liaising with healthcare professionals, and planning and reviewing management plans. Session fees must also cover personal expenses when a psychologist take time off work for study, rest, or other personal reasons.

Neuropsychological, psychometric assessments, and other diagnostic tests are charged differently from consultations. An assessment will typically comprise one or more clinical interviews, administration of an assessment or battery of tests, formulation, a formal written report, and a feedback session. There are costs involved to purchase and administer each assessment or test, and these costs will make up the total fee for an assessment or test. 

Subsidised, Discounted or Reduced fees

In Singapore, private psychotherapy is not covered under MediSave, MediShield, or other healthcare schemes. The government provides a partial subsidy for psychotherapy in most government hospitals and facilities.

In a private setting, your healthcare insurer may reimburse you for psychotherapy if it is covered under your insurance policy. Please enquire with your insurer on your eligibility for cover.