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7 Best Psychiatrists in Singapore (August 2026)
The 7 best psychiatry clinics in Singapore for 2026, real consultation fees, and why the referral route can cost a tenth of going private.
1 Promises Healthcare Psychiatry and psychology together
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 recommendationsChoosing the best psychiatrist Singapore has available is really two decisions, and most people only make the second one. The first is whether to go private at all. With a polyclinic or CHAS referral, a subsidised first specialist consultation at the Institute of Mental Health runs about S$32.90 to S$76.70 for citizens and permanent residents. Privately, the same conversation costs S$250 to S$575.
And the consultation is not where the real gap sits. Medication prescribed privately is not subsidised, while medication obtained through the referral route is. For anything requiring months of treatment, that difference compounds into far more than the fee you compared at the start.
None of which means private is wrong. It is faster, you choose your doctor, and for many people that is worth paying for. This guide sets out both routes honestly and lists seven private clinics worth knowing. Nothing here is medical advice, and no medication is named or recommended.
Four things to weigh before you book anything.
- The referral route is dramatically cheaper. A referral from a polyclinic or a CHAS clinic gets citizens and PRs a subsidised first specialist consultation at IMH of roughly S$32.90 to S$76.70, with repeat visits slightly lower. You can also book a private psychiatrist directly with no referral at all, and pay in full.
- Medication is the cost that actually accumulates. Prescriptions from a private psychiatrist are not subsidised; those flowing from the referral route are. If treatment runs six or twelve months, that is where the money goes, and it is routinely left out of the comparison people make at the start.
- Private fees are usually time-banded. Nobel publishes S$150 before GST for a consultation not exceeding 15 minutes, with additional charges for longer. That is normal for the sector and it means the headline figure is not the bill: a proper first psychiatric assessment does not fit into 15 minutes and should not be expected to.
- Foreign residents should compare carefully. Subsidies apply to citizens and PRs, so those without either typically pay unsubsidised public rates, which often still sit below private clinic fees but not by the same margin. Worth pricing both rather than assuming private is the only option.
One thing that is genuinely simpler here than elsewhere in mental health: psychiatrists are already regulated. They are medical doctors who have specialised in psychiatry and are registered with the Singapore Medical Council, so their registration is verifiable today. Psychologists and counsellors are not yet statutorily regulated, which is the subject of my guide to the best psychologists and therapists in Singapore. HealthHub and the Ministry of Health are the starting points for the public routes.
This is worth a minute because psychiatry is the most expensive of the three professions and is not always the right one.
See a psychiatrist when medication is likely to be part of the answer, when you want a formal psychiatric diagnosis, when a condition is severe or has not responded to therapy, or where physical health and psychiatric symptoms are entangled. They are the only professional of the three who can prescribe.
See a clinical psychologist, at S$150 to S$350, for psychological assessment and structured therapy such as CBT. See a counsellor, at S$100 to S$240 and often subsidised, for a defined life difficulty. My guides to counselling services in Singapore and to child psychologists cover those two routes and their subsidies.
Many people end up seeing both a psychiatrist and a therapist, with the psychiatrist managing medication and the therapist doing the weekly work. Several clinics below hold both under one roof, which makes that arrangement considerably less awkward to organise.
| Clinic | Where | Fee guide | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Promises Healthcare | Novena | Private psychiatry rates | Psychiatry and psychology in one practice |
| Nobel Psychological Wellness | Novena and Ang Mo Kio | S$150 before GST, up to 15 minutes | Published fees, and a heartlands clinic |
| Resilienz | Novena | On enquiry | Addictions, and all ages |
| Better Life Psychological Medicine | 10 Sinaran Drive | Varies by clinician and session type | Multidisciplinary teams |
| Dr BL Lim, Psywellness | Singapore | On enquiry | ADHD, anxiety, depression, insomnia |
| Private Space Medical | Singapore | On enquiry | Discretion, and psychiatry with psychology |
| Mind Care Specialists | Singapore | On enquiry | Older adults and dementia care |
The alternative is the usual experience: a psychiatrist appointment, a recommendation to also see a therapist, and then a fresh search, a fresh waiting list and a therapist who knows nothing about the medication being taken. That handover being internal is worth more than most people expect.
Private rates apply, and psychiatry prices above psychology. Ask what a first consultation costs and how long it is scheduled for, since first appointments in psychiatry are necessarily longer than follow-ups.
- Best for
- Treatment likely to involve both medication and therapy
- Since
- 2011
- Team
- Psychiatrists plus clinical, educational, counselling and forensic psychologists
- Fees
- Private psychiatry rates, ask for the first-consultation figure
- Website
- promises.com.sg
It is important to read that figure correctly rather than as a session price. Fifteen minutes is a follow-up or a medication review. A first psychiatric assessment takes substantially longer and will cost proportionately more, so ask what a full first appointment is scheduled for and what the resulting fee band is.
The other reason it is here is geography. It runs a clinic at Novena Medical Centre and another in Ang Mo Kio serving the heartlands, and specialist psychiatry outside the central medical belt is genuinely scarce. For a family in the north, that is a materially shorter journey at what is often a difficult time.
- Best for
- A published price, and access outside the central belt
- Where
- Novena Medical Centre and Ang Mo Kio
- Fees
- S$150 before GST for up to 15 minutes, more for longer
- Ask about
- The length and fee band of a first assessment
- Website
- nobelmedicalgroup.com
Addictions is a genuine subspecialty rather than a service line. Substance and behavioural addictions interact with other psychiatric conditions in ways that reward specific expertise, and a general psychiatrist treating a co-occurring addiction is working harder than one who does it constantly.
Treating the full age range matters for families. Where a parent and an adolescent both need care, or where an older relative's presentation needs assessing, a clinic that covers everyone avoids assembling a set of separate relationships across several practices.
- Best for
- Addictions, and families needing more than one age group covered
- Where
- Novena
- Led by
- Dr Thomas Lee, psychiatrist and addictions specialist
- Ages
- Children and adolescents through to elderly
- Website
- resilienz.com.sg
That is a more honest description of how this sector actually prices than a single headline rate, and it also points at a way to manage cost: a more junior clinician working under supervision is often available at a lower fee, and for many presentations that is entirely appropriate care rather than a compromise.
Ask directly what the range is across the team and whether a less senior clinician would be suitable for your situation. A good practice will answer that straightforwardly rather than routing everyone to the most expensive diary.
- Best for
- Managing cost without leaving the private route
- Where
- 10 Sinaran Drive, Novena
- Fees
- Vary by clinician seniority, intervention type and session length
- Ask about
- The range across the team, not just the senior rate
- Website
- better-life.sg
Adult ADHD in particular is an area where volume of experience shows. It is under-diagnosed in adults, especially in women, and often presents alongside anxiety or long-standing low mood that has been treated for years as the primary problem. A psychiatrist who sees a lot of it is quicker to test that assumption.
Insomnia belongs in the same group. It is treated as a symptom far more often than it is treated as a condition, and where it is the driver rather than the consequence, addressing it directly changes the whole picture. Fees on enquiry.
- Best for
- Adult ADHD, and presentations where several of these overlap
- Focus
- ADHD, depression, anxiety disorders and insomnia
- Fees
- On enquiry
- Website
- psywellness.com.sg
Having both disciplines in-house puts it in the same useful category as Promises: medication management and therapy can be arranged together rather than assembled across two practices that never speak.
Fees are on enquiry, as with most of this list. Ask what a first consultation costs, how long it runs, and what follow-ups are priced at, because the follow-up rate is what you will actually be paying month after month.
- Best for
- Discretion, and keeping medication and therapy together
- Offers
- Psychiatry and psychology
- Fees
- On enquiry, ask for first consultation and follow-up separately
- Website
- privatespace.com.sg
Distinguishing dementia from depression in an older adult is one of the genuinely difficult problems in the field, because they can present similarly and the treatment paths diverge completely. Getting that assessment from someone who does it regularly is worth travelling for.
The other reason to name it: families in this situation are often managing an unwilling patient, a legal and financial dimension, and their own exhaustion at the same time. A practice organised around that reality is a different proposition from one that mainly sees working-age adults.
- Best for
- Distinguishing dementia from depression, and family-facing care
- Focus
- Psychiatry with an emphasis on dementia and older adults
- Fees
- On enquiry
- Website
- mindcarespecialists.com
A private psychiatrist in Singapore costs S$250 to S$575 per consultation in 2026. With a polyclinic or CHAS referral, a subsidised first specialist consultation at IMH costs about S$32.90 to S$76.70 for citizens and permanent residents, with repeat visits slightly lower. Private fees are often time-banded rather than per session, with Nobel publishing S$150 before GST for a consultation not exceeding 15 minutes.
| Route | Consultation | Medication |
|---|---|---|
| Subsidised, with referral (SC/PR) | About S$32.90 to S$76.70 first visit | Subsidised |
| Public, unsubsidised | Below private rates | Not subsidised |
| Private clinic | S$250 to S$575, often time-banded | Not subsidised |
When comparing, price the whole course rather than the first appointment. Medication is unsubsidised on the private route and subsidised through the referral route, so for treatment lasting months that difference outweighs the consultation gap. Ask any private clinic for both the first-consultation and the follow-up fee, since follow-ups are what recur.
No. You can book a private psychiatrist directly with no referral and pay in full. A referral from a polyclinic or a CHAS clinic is required only if you want the government subsidy for consultation and treatment at IMH, which brings a first specialist consultation down to roughly S$32.90 to S$76.70 for citizens and permanent residents.
The referral route is slower to start but far cheaper across a course of treatment, because medication obtained through it is subsidised while private prescriptions are not. If speed and choice of doctor matter most, go private. If cost over months matters most, start at a polyclinic.
Psychiatrists in Singapore are medical doctors who have specialised in psychiatry and are registered with the Singapore Medical Council, so you can verify registration directly through the SMC. This makes psychiatry the only one of the three main mental health professions already under statutory regulation.
Psychologists and counsellors are not yet regulated, and their titles are not legally protected, although the Ministry of Health has set out a framework bringing psychologists under the Allied Health Professions Act with mandatory registration. Until that takes effect, psychologists are checked on the voluntary Singapore Register of Psychologists and counsellors on the Singapore Association for Counselling register.
Decide the route before the doctor. If cost matters and the situation is not urgent, start with a polyclinic referral: a subsidised first consultation of roughly S$32.90 to S$76.70 against S$250 to S$575, and subsidised medication after that, which is the part that actually accumulates. If speed and choice matter more, go private with your eyes open about what a course will cost rather than what the first appointment costs.
Going private, Promises or Private Space if you will need therapy alongside medication and want both in one place. Nobel if you want a published price or you are in the north. Resilienz for addictions or where several generations of one family need care. Dr BL Lim for adult ADHD and the anxiety, low mood and insomnia that so often travel with it. Mind Care for an older relative where dementia is the question.
Two questions on every call. What does a first consultation cost and how long is it scheduled for, because a 15-minute band is a follow-up rate, not an assessment. And what does a follow-up cost, since that is the number you will pay repeatedly. Check the doctor on the SMC register, which unlike the rest of this field you can do today.
One last note. Almost every clinic here quotes on enquiry, and the one that publishes a figure is immediately easier to trust. For someone anxious, comparing quietly and not wanting to make a phone call yet, a clear fee page does more work than any amount of reassurance copy. If you run a practice 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.
