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6 Best Counselling Services in Singapore (August 2026)
The 6 best counselling services in Singapore for 2026, real fees, and the NCSS subsidy that takes a S$200 session down to S$40 if you qualify.
1 Lakeside Family Services Counselling that costs nothing
Why it's No. 1 This guide is part of Terris Recommends, my researched, hands-on picks of the best local businesses and services in Singapore. Every recommendation is researched and ranked by me.
See all recommendationsThe best counselling Singapore offers may cost you a fraction of what you are expecting, and the reason is a subsidy almost nobody checks. Under the Counselling Fee Subsidy Scheme, Singaporeans and PRs in households earning S$9,500 a month or less pay roughly S$40 to S$170 an hour rather than the S$100 to S$240 that agencies otherwise charge. NCSS separately subsidises the first six sessions at supported centres.
That income ceiling covers a very large share of Singapore households. Yet the standard experience is someone searching, finding a private practice, seeing S$200 an hour, and quietly deciding to leave it. If cost is the reason you have not booked anything, it is worth ten minutes before you conclude that.
So this guide covers six services across the whole range, from Family Service Centres that charge nothing to private practices that charge full rates, with what each actually costs and who each suits. Nothing here is medical advice.
This is the part worth reading even if you skip the list.
- The Counselling Fee Subsidy Scheme is means-tested and generous. For Singaporeans and PRs with gross monthly household income of S$9,500 and below, fees at participating agencies are adjusted to roughly S$40 to S$170 an hour including GST. That ceiling is high enough that a lot of dual-income households qualify and assume they do not.
- NCSS subsidises the first six sessions at supported centres. The National Council of Social Service lists the agencies in the scheme. Sessions beyond the sixth revert to the centre's standard rate, typically S$100 to S$240. For many presenting problems six sessions is a meaningful course rather than a taster.
- Family Service Centres charge nothing. These are the frontline social service agencies funded through the Ministry of Social and Family Development and they provide counselling free. The trade is availability and sometimes a wait, not quality.
- Subsidised places run out. Singapore Counselling Centre, for instance, had filled its subsidised quota and was not accepting applications until 31 March 2026, with processing resuming on 1 April. If one agency is closed to applications, another in the NCSS list usually is not, so ask more than one.
One check to do regardless of which route you take. Counsellors are not yet statutorily regulated in Singapore, so search the practitioner by name on the Singapore Association for Counselling register, which lists more than 900 Registered Counsellors and 200 Registered Clinical Supervisors. It is free and takes a minute. My guide to the best psychologists and therapists in Singapore covers why that check matters and what is changing.
And check with your employer. A good number of companies fund therapy through an Employee Assistance Programme, and a surprising number of employees have never asked.
These are different professions at different prices and choosing wrongly is expensive.
A counsellor works therapeutically on a defined difficulty. A relationship in trouble, a bereavement, a work situation that has become unmanageable, a decision you cannot make. They typically hold a masters in counselling, do not diagnose, and charge roughly S$100 to S$240 an hour at agency rates, less with a subsidy.
A clinical psychologist holds a postgraduate degree in clinical psychology, can conduct formal psychological assessment and diagnosis, and delivers structured therapies such as CBT. Private fees run S$150 to S$350. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor, is the only one of the three who can prescribe, and charges S$250 to S$575.
The practical rule: if what you want is to work something through with a trained person, counselling is the right service and the cheapest of the three. If you suspect a diagnosable condition, or a previous course of counselling has not shifted it, move up to a clinical psychologist. If medication is likely to be part of the answer, you need a psychiatrist.
| Service | Type | Fee | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeside Family Services | Family Service Centre | Free | Marriage and family, at no cost |
| Singapore Counselling Centre | NCSS-supported agency | Subsidised, then standard rates | The subsidised route, when places are open |
| Counselling and Care Centre | Charity agency | Published fee scale | Long-established, SAC-affiliated counsellors |
| REACH Community Services | Community agency | S$165 to S$240 an hour | Sliding fees based on presenting need |
| Alliance Counselling | Private practice | Published on their fees page | Multilingual counselling and couples |
| AppleTree Counselling | Private practice | Private rates | Marriage and family therapy in the east |
Family Service Centres are the frontline of Singapore's social service system and they are staffed by trained counsellors doing the same work private practices do. What you give up is choice of counsellor and, at busy periods, speed. What you keep is the entire fee.
The common objection is that free must mean lower quality or that it is only for people in crisis. Neither is true. If a marriage is in difficulty and the alternative is doing nothing because S$200 an hour feels impossible, this is the call to make first.
- Fee
- Free
- Open to
- Citizens, PRs, and non-residents with a Singapore nexus
- Covers
- Marriage and family counselling
- Trade-off
- Less choice of counsellor, and sometimes a wait
- Website
- lakeside.org.sg
The practical catch is capacity. Its subsidised quota had filled and applications were closed until 31 March 2026, resuming on 1 April. That is not a criticism of the centre, it is what happens when a subsidised service meets real demand, and it is why the NCSS list matters more than any single agency name.
If you are told the subsidised places are gone, ask when they reopen and ask which other agencies on the NCSS list are taking applications. Somebody usually is, and a counsellor at a different agency is not a worse counsellor.
- Best for
- A subsidised course, if a place is available
- Subsidy
- Up to 6 NCSS-supported sessions, then standard rates
- Note
- Subsidised quota had closed until 31 March 2026, reopening 1 April
- If full
- Ask which other NCSS-listed agencies are open
- Website
- scc.sg
It sits in a useful middle position: not a private practice charging full commercial rates, not a Family Service Centre with the associated wait. For someone who wants a scheduled course of counselling at a fee they can see in advance, that middle is often exactly right.
Ask which counsellor you will be seeing and check the name on the SAC register before the first session, as you should anywhere. A centre that has been running for decades will not be remotely offended by the question.
- Best for
- A middle route between free and full private rates
- Fees
- Published fee scale
- Counsellors
- Members of professional bodies including SAC
- Website
- counsel.org.sg
Fee-setting of that kind is worth understanding. It means the number you are quoted reflects the complexity and length of work anticipated, which is more honest than a single headline rate that gets supplemented later, and it means there is usually room to have the conversation about affordability directly.
As a community agency rather than a private clinic, it also sits inside the wider social service network, so if what you actually need is something adjacent, financial assistance, family support, a referral onward, it is better placed to arrange that than a standalone practice.
- Best for
- Situations where counselling is one part of a wider need
- Fees
- About S$165 to S$240 an hour, set against presenting need
- Standards
- Counsellors guided by the SAC code of ethics
- Website
- reach.org.sg
It is also one of the better options in Singapore for couples work, which is a genuinely distinct skill rather than individual counselling with two people in the room. It publishes a fees and terms page rather than quoting on enquiry.
These are full private rates with no subsidy attached, so this is the choice when you want a specific counsellor, a specific language or a specific specialism, and are content to pay commercial prices for it.
- Best for
- Couples, and counselling in a first language other than English
- Where
- Cluny Court
- Fees
- Published on their fees and terms page, full private rates
- Website
- alliancecounselling.com.sg
Geography is the other reason it is here. Most of the practices on this and every other list of this kind sit in Novena, Orchard or the CBD, which is a real obstacle for families in the east juggling school runs and work.
Private rates, no subsidy. Check the therapist on the SAC register and ask specifically about their marriage and family therapy training rather than counselling generally, since the two are not interchangeable.
- Best for
- Couples in the east, and relationship-system work
- Where
- Marine Parade
- Discipline
- Marriage and family therapy
- Website
- appletreecounselling.sg
Counselling in Singapore costs roughly S$100 to S$240 an hour at standard agency rates, and S$40 to S$170 an hour for Singaporeans and PRs who qualify under the Counselling Fee Subsidy Scheme, which applies to households with gross monthly income of S$9,500 and below. NCSS separately subsidises the first six sessions at supported centres, and Family Service Centres such as Lakeside provide counselling free.
| Route | Cost | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Family Service Centre | Free | Citizens, PRs, and non-residents with a Singapore nexus |
| Subsidised agency (CFSS) | S$40 to S$170 an hour | Household income S$9,500 a month and below |
| NCSS-supported, first 6 sessions | Subsidised | At agencies in the NCSS scheme, subject to quota |
| Standard agency rate | S$100 to S$240 an hour | Everyone else, and sessions beyond the sixth |
| Private practice | Full commercial rates | Specific counsellor, language or specialism |
Two things worth doing before you pay a full private rate. Check whether your household falls under the S$9,500 ceiling, because a great many do. And check whether your employer runs an Employee Assistance Programme, which often covers a set number of sessions outright.
Yes, and there is more of it than most people realise. Family Service Centres such as Lakeside Family Services provide counselling free of charge to citizens, PRs and non-residents with a Singapore connection. The Counselling Fee Subsidy Scheme reduces fees at participating agencies to roughly S$40 to S$170 an hour for Singaporeans and PRs in households earning S$9,500 a month or less. NCSS also subsidises the first six sessions at supported counselling centres.
The main constraint is capacity rather than eligibility. Subsidised quotas fill, so if one agency has closed applications, ask when it reopens and check the NCSS list of supported centres for one that is currently taking referrals. Many employers additionally fund a set number of sessions through an Employee Assistance Programme.
Marriage counselling in Singapore costs about the same as individual counselling at most agencies, roughly S$100 to S$240 an hour, though some private practices charge more for couples sessions because they run longer. Lakeside Family Services provides marriage and family counselling free of charge, and subsidised rates of S$40 to S$170 an hour apply to eligible Singaporeans and PRs at participating agencies.
If the relationship rather than either individual is the focus, look specifically for a marriage and family therapist, which is a distinct training rather than a general counsellor seeing two people. AppleTree Counselling and Alliance Counselling both work in this area privately, and Lakeside covers it at no cost.
Search the counsellor by name on the Singapore Association for Counselling register, which lists over 900 Registered Counsellors and 200 Registered Clinical Supervisors and is free to use. Registration requires meeting SAC training, supervised-practice and ethical standards, which is currently the strongest available signal because counselling is not yet a statutorily regulated profession in Singapore.
That is changing. The Ministry of Health has set out a framework bringing psychologists, including counselling psychology, under the Allied Health Professions Act with mandatory registration and protected titles. Until it takes effect, ask any counsellor for their highest qualification, their SAC registration status and who provides their clinical supervision.
Start with the money, because it is usually the thing stopping people rather than the thing they discuss. If your household is under S$9,500 a month, you likely qualify for the Counselling Fee Subsidy Scheme and should not be paying S$200 an hour. If cost needs to be zero, Lakeside Family Services is free and is a real service, not a lesser one.
After that: Singapore Counselling Centre or another NCSS-supported agency if a subsidised place is open, Counselling and Care Centre for a published fee scale in the middle of the market, Alliance if you want couples work or a first language other than English, and AppleTree if you are in the east and the relationship itself is the client.
Two habits. Check the SAC register before the first session, because it is free and the profession is not yet regulated. And ask your employer whether an Employee Assistance Programme exists before you pay for anything, because a surprising number of people are entitled to sessions they never claim.
One last note. Researching this, the pattern was that the agencies doing the most good are frequently the hardest to find and the least clear about what they charge, while private practices with a marketing budget dominate the search results. That gap costs people money and sometimes stops them asking for help at all. If you run a practice or an agency and your website is the weak link, that is fixable. Take a look at my web design services in Singapore, or get a quote and I will tell you honestly what would move the needle.
