Bangkok's mental health care includes hospital psychiatry clinics, a psychiatric hospital and counselling practices. Compare who prescribes and languages. Check services, staff, fees and availability with each provider before you book.
Psychiatrists can prescribe and admit; counsellors offer talking therapy only. New Counseling Service, for example, does not prescribe.
Manarom is a psychiatric hospital with an inpatient ward and a day hospital, for people who may need more than weekly sessions.
Hospital clinics often leave session languages and fees unpublished; ask for both when you book.
For urgent support, the Department of Mental Health's 1323 hotline runs 24 hours; in immediate danger, call 1669.
Our method for this page
We read each provider's own web pages on mental health services in Bangkok and kept only statements we could trace to a source. Nobody paid to be included, and the list is not a quality ranking. Criteria:
Bumrungrad's Behavioral Health Center offers two routes. Psychiatrists (14 are listed, two with geriatric psychiatry) diagnose and treat depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, phobias, OCD, insomnia and alcohol or drug use with medication, psychotherapy and CBT, which can include take-home assignments. A neurological assessment is arranged when a physical cause is suspected.
The second route is counselling without medication with a psychologist, for stress and burnout, early-stage low mood, relationship and family issues and stress-related sleep problems. The listed psychologist holds an MA in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, works in Thai and English, and can be booked by telehealth. Groups named include adolescents, couples, pregnant and postpartum women, carers and older people.
The centre says counselling is not suitable for severe or complex conditions, anyone at risk of harming themselves or others, or anyone who needs medication; they should see a psychiatrist directly. Fees are not published.
14 psychiatrists listed
Counselling without medication
Psychologist sessions in Thai and English
Telehealth booking
Neurological assessment available
Behavioral Health Center, Building B, 4th floorMon–Sat 09:00–20:00; closed Sunday+66 2 066 8888
Worth confirming: The psychologist is not listed on Thursdays or Sundays; confirm the session language for your psychiatrist when booking.
JCI clinical care programme certifications (stroke, acute coronary syndrome, lung cancer, orthogeriatric; listed to 2027)
Bangkok Hospital's Special Clinic (Psychiatry) at the Soi Soonvijai headquarters sees children, adolescents and adults. Treatment can be outpatient or inpatient depending on severity, and combines medication, psychotherapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
The child and adolescent list covers developmental delay, autism, ADHD, intellectual disability, eating disorders and behavioural problems; for adults and older people it names memory, sleep and sexual disorders, depression and stress. Individual therapy is listed for addiction, OCD, PTSD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, panic, trauma, grief and relationship issues, with family therapy and a wide range of psychological testing.
It is open daily 08:00–18:00. Languages and fees are not published. It may suit Bangkok families who want child and adult psychiatry, testing and TMS within one hospital clinic.
Children, adolescents and adults
TMS listed
Neuropsychological and personality testing
Open daily 08:00–18:00
Special Clinic (Psychiatry), Bangkok Hospital HeadquartersDaily 08:00–18:00+66 2 310 3013
Worth confirming: Languages and fees are not published; ask for an English-speaking psychiatrist and a cost estimate when booking.
MedPark's psychiatry clinic is an outpatient service whose team combines psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists and psychiatric nurse specialists. Its page names seven psychiatrists, including subspecialists in child and adolescent, geriatric, addiction and palliative psychiatry.
The conditions list is broad, from depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia to PTSD, OCD, ADHD, eating disorders, gambling disorder, burnout and sleep problems. Treatment options are medication, psychotherapy, behavioural therapy, and occupational and physical therapy. Named counselling services cover older adults, loss after miscarriage, changes linked to dementia or physical illness, and support for patients admitted to the hospital for other treatment.
Initial outpatient counselling is for people aged 15 and over. Session languages, online consultations and fees are not published, and the page describes no psychiatric ward or crisis service. It may suit adults who want a psychiatrist within a general hospital with long daily hours.
Manarom is a mental health hospital rather than a department, so psychiatry, psychology and therapy sit under one roof. Its outpatient clinic sees adjustment problems, work and marital stress, grief and crises as well as depression, anxiety, panic, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders and alcohol or substance use. Specialist clinics cover sleep (with sleep studies), memory disorders and sexual dysfunction.
For more intensive care there is a 30-bed locked inpatient ward with medication, individual, group and milieu therapy, and a day hospital, Monday to Saturday 08:30–16:00, with individual and group therapy plus occupational and recreational activities. Art, dance, music, occupational and physical therapy are listed, and children, adolescents, adults and older people are seen.
Ward activities are in Thai; staff speak English, and foreign patients can ask for an interpreter or an English-speaking counsellor. Fees, outpatient hours and online sessions are not published. It may suit someone who may need more than a weekly appointment.
30-bed inpatient unit
Day hospital Monday–Saturday
Sleep studies
Memory disorder service
Interpreter on request
Worth confirming: The site publishes no emergency line or outpatient hours; new patients need to book in advance by phone.
NCS is a counselling service, not a psychiatric clinic: its pages describe counsellors and therapists, not psychiatrists or prescribing. Counsellors see children, adolescents, adults, couples and families at two Bangkok sites, NCS Heartspace on Sukhumvit Soi 23 near Asok and NCS Home in Saphan Khwai.
Issues listed include anxiety, depression, trauma, eating disorders, grief, addiction and crisis intervention. Approaches on the team page range from CBT, emotion-focused and psychodynamic therapy to EMDR, Satir, Gottman and creative therapies, and each counsellor's training and registrations are listed, with staff working under supervision marked.
Sessions are offered in English, Thai, Chinese, Cantonese and Dutch. NCS also runs employee assistance programmes and critical incident support for organisations. Fees and hours are not published. It may suit expatriate families and couples who want talking therapy in their own language.
Two Bangkok locations
Five session languages
EMDR and Gottman listed
Employee assistance programmes
Worth confirming: Counsellors do not prescribe; ask about referral to a psychiatrist if medication may be needed, and ask for fees when booking.
Finding mental health support abroad can feel harder than finding other care. You need someone with the right training for what you are dealing with, who works in a language you can think and feel in, and whose fees and insurance terms you understand before the first session. If you take medication, you also need a plan for keeping it going.
This guide covers the types of practitioner, language, online sessions, medication, crisis support, confidentiality and cost. It is general information, not medical or psychological advice. If you are in immediate danger, call 1669 or go to the nearest hospital emergency department now.
Psychiatrist, clinical psychologist or counsellor
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has specialised in mental health. Psychiatrists can diagnose, prescribe and adjust medication, arrange tests and admit patients to hospital. Because they are doctors, their licence and recorded specialty can be checked on the Medical Council of Thailand's public lookup.
Clinical psychologists provide psychological assessment and talking therapies; they do not prescribe. In Thailand clinical psychology is a licensed branch of the practice of the art of healing, overseen by a professional committee under the Ministry of Public Health's Department of Health Service Support, which publishes practice standards for the profession. Ask a psychologist for their Thai licence, or for their registration abroad if they trained elsewhere.
Counsellors and therapists offer supportive talking therapy for stress, relationships, grief or adjusting to life abroad. Training varies widely, so ask where a counsellor trained, which professional body they belong to and how they are supervised.
Language and cultural fit
Therapy depends on being able to put feelings into words, so language matters more here than in most specialties. Check the language of the individual practitioner, not just the hospital or clinic.
Fit goes beyond language. You may want someone who understands expatriate life, a particular faith or culture, LGBTQ+ experience or the pressures of a cross-cultural family. It is reasonable to ask for a short introductory call first, and to change practitioner if the fit is not right.
Online or in person
Online sessions can widen your choice of language and specialism, and can let you keep seeing a practitioner from your home country. They also have limits: a practitioner abroad may not be able to prescribe in Thailand, arrange an admission or respond quickly in a crisis.
Ask an online practitioner whether they may treat someone located in Thailand and what they would do if worried about your safety, and keep a local contact, such as a hospital department or psychiatrist, for anything that needs to happen in person.
Medication and continuity
Thai drug laws are strict, even for medicines prescribed legally elsewhere. The Royal Thai Embassy in London advises that ordinary medicines can be brought in for personal use for up to 30 days of prescribed use, in their original labelled containers with a letter or prescription from your doctor. Medicines containing controlled psychotropic or narcotic substances need a permit from the Thai Food and Drug Administration, applied for online at least two weeks before travel.
Some medicines prescribed abroad may not be available or legally sold in Thailand. Ask your current prescriber about alternatives before you travel, and see a psychiatrist in Thailand well before your supply runs out. Do not stop or change medication without talking to a doctor.
Crisis pathways
In an emergency, call 1669, Thailand's free medical emergency number, or go to a hospital emergency department. The Department of Mental Health runs the 1323 mental health hotline, available 24 hours a day. The UK government lists Samaritans of Thailand on +66 (0)2 113 6789, pressing 2 for English.
Ask any practitioner you see regularly what to do between sessions if things get worse, and which hospital they would refer you to. Be aware that, according to the UK government, a person in Thailand can be admitted to hospital without consent if they appear to be a danger or need urgent treatment and cannot make decisions for themselves.
Confidentiality
Thailand's National Health Act states that personal health information is confidential and limits disclosure without the person's consent unless a specific law requires it. Even so, ask who can see your notes and what would be shared with an employer, school or insurer.
An insurer may need a diagnosis or report; ask what it will contain before you sign a release.
Costs and insurance
We have not found official fee schedules for psychiatry or therapy, so ask for the fee for a first appointment and for follow-ups, the session length, and whether medication, tests and online sessions are charged separately. The UK government describes private psychiatric care as expensive and says private psychiatric hospitals require a deposit or payment guarantee before admission.
Insurance cover for mental health varies widely between policies. Check whether yours covers outpatient psychiatry, therapy with a psychologist or counsellor, and inpatient care; whether it needs a doctor's referral; and whether there is a limit on the number of sessions.
Questions to ask before you book
Are you a psychiatrist, clinical psychologist or counsellor, and where did you train?
Are you licensed in Thailand, and with which body?
Which languages do you work in, and do you offer online sessions?
What experience do you have with the issue I am seeking help for?
What does a first appointment cost, how long is it, and what do follow-ups cost?
Can you prescribe, or will you work alongside a psychiatrist if medication is needed?
What should I do if I need urgent help between sessions?
Who can see my notes, and what would you share with my insurer or employer?
Can you provide receipts and reports for an insurance claim?
If you see clients online, are you permitted to treat someone located in Thailand?
Warning signs
A practitioner who cannot or will not say what their qualification is or where they are licensed.
Promises of a guaranteed cure or a fixed number of sessions before any assessment.
Advice to stop prescribed medication from someone who is not a doctor.
No plan for what to do in a crisis, or no local contact if sessions are online.
Unclear fees, or pressure to pay for a long block of sessions up front.
Pressure to share personal information beyond what your care requires.
Often, but check the individual doctor. Bumrungrad lists a psychologist who works in Thai and English, and Manarom says its staff speak English and can arrange an English-speaking counsellor. Bangkok Hospital and MedPark do not publish session languages, so ask when booking.
Is there inpatient psychiatric care in Bangkok?
Manarom has a locked inpatient ward and a day hospital, and Bangkok Hospital's psychiatry clinic offers outpatient or inpatient treatment depending on severity. MedPark's page describes no psychiatric ward. A psychiatrist decides whether admission is needed.
What is the difference between a counsellor and a psychiatrist?
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who can diagnose and prescribe. A counsellor provides talking therapy and does not prescribe; if medication may help, ask the counsellor about referral to a psychiatrist.
Does insurance cover therapy in Bangkok?
Cover for mental health varies widely. Check whether your policy pays for outpatient psychiatry, psychologist or counsellor sessions and inpatient care, and whether it needs a doctor's referral, then ask the provider for receipts and reports suitable for a claim.
About the writer and reviewer
PS
Pimchanok Srisawat
Health writer
Writes guides and comparisons for Thai Clinic Guide, keeping a link to the page behind every detail so readers can check it themselves.
KW
Kittisak Wongsawat
Health writer and reviewer
Goes through pages line by line against the sources listed, and flags wording that could be taken as advice for one reader.
This page sets out published information and is not medical advice. Speak to a doctor before you choose treatment. Our method.
Private tertiary hospital
