Best Online Therapy and Psychologist in Pakistan: The Ultimate Guide

If you’re looking for online therapy Pakistan, you’ll find very limited options within the country. Even if you look for a therapist to see in person, there’s a serious dearth of psychologists and other mental health professionals in Pakistan.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are just 0.19 therapists per 10,000 residents of Pakistan. Overall, there are 24 million people suffering from mental health issues. This is an alarming state and a warning that the country is facing a mental healthcare crisis.

Online therapy may just be the beacon of hope it needs to get through this and online platform can be the best way to find the right therapist you need.

To support the work of the people working on TherapyHunter.com, we may receive compensation if you sign up for online counseling through the links provided.

State of Mental Healthcare in Pakistan

One can only imagine the state of mental healthcare in a country that criminalizes suicide. Rather than getting the right help to the person on the cusp of ending life, the law of the country is to imprison such an individual.

Overall, there’s a serious need for a mental healthcare overhaul in the country. Some estimates put the percentage of the Pakistani population facing mental health issues at 36 percent, but the real number could be even higher.

As a country plagued with poverty, inflation, and corruption, as well as social stigmas around therapy and mental illnesses, in general, the state of mental healthcare is very poor in this South Asian country of over 220 million people.

In Pakistan, there’s a serious lack of awareness of mental health issues and how they can be treated. Usually, people don’t seek treatment until they show signs of psychosis.

Similarly, people having relationship issues don’t consult a professional couple’s therapists and rather consult with adults of the family with dated views and no knowledge of what role therapy can play for couples.

There’s also a significant number of substance abuse cases where treatment and therapy intervention becomes necessary.

Then there’s the issue of limited access to mental healthcare. Even in big cities like Karachi and Lahore, there aren’t as many mental healthcare institutes, psychiatrists, and psychologists available. The situation is worse in small towns and rural areas where there is hardly any hospital housing a psychiatrist or therapist.

Mental healthcare institutes in the country are mostly run by non-profit institutes, as the government has little to no part in the provision of such services. There are some private facilities as well in major cities, but those are usually expensive for an average citizen of the country.

To support the work of the people working on TherapyHunter.com, we may receive compensation if you sign up for online counseling through the links provided.

How Can Online Therapy Help People in Pakistan?

It’s clear that there are gaps in the mental healthcare system of Pakistan, which makes finding a therapist challenging, especially if you live in a small town. This is where online therapy can step in to bridge the gap.

More importantly, it can make it a bit more comfortable for people to seek therapy in their privacy, as often people avoid going to therapy because of the stigma attached to mental illnesses. Since online therapy can be done from anywhere with just a computer or mobile with an internet connection, it makes it easier for people to get therapy.

While online therapy may not be the cheapest option, it’s comparable with the fees of therapists in the private healthcare sector of the country.

In many cases, online therapists can help diagnose people with serious mental health issues in early-stage and refer them to psychiatrists. Early intervention can prove highly beneficial for mental conditions like depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia.

Lastly, online therapy, especially with a therapist from abroad, can help deliver critical therapy for specific conditions like for example Borderline Personality Disorder or eating disorder that people may find difficult to get in the country.

How to Find Online Therapy in Pakistan?

Finding a therapist online in Pakistan is not so easy because there’s no national database of online psychologist Pakistan. Moreover, there aren’t any local therapy platforms delivering therapy online.

However, it’s still very much possible to find a therapist you match with well and can comfortably speak to about any issues you’re facing.

If you want to independently work with a therapist, searching online is the first step. You can find out therapists who practice locally, especially in hospitals and clinics, and if they provide online therapy options.

If you don’t have budget restrictions and are looking for quality therapy from a licensed professional, BetterHelp.com is the best online therapy in Pakistan. Although it’s not based in Pakistan, it offers a wide range of therapy services from psychologists who have studied and trained in the US.

While most therapists there speak English, so do many people in Pakistan. So if you can speak basic English, you can easily work with any therapist on that platform. That said, BetterHelp also has therapists originating from Pakistan who speaks the national language Urdu. So you might just get matched with one who does speak your language. You can also make a request for this, perhaps).

As this is a laborious task, you can find an online therapist is to search in online directories.

The international website Therapy Route also lists therapists from Pakistan, which you can filter by location. However, some may not be providing online therapy, so make sure to ascertain before whether they do provide telehealth services.

Wrap Up

The best online therapy in Pakistan is the one that helps you meet your needs. If you can’t find a therapist that works for you within the country, you can look elsewhere. That’s the biggest advantage of going with online therapy.

It’s clear that Pakistan has a lot of work to do on mental health issues on so many levels. Increasing awareness about mental illnesses and therapy can play a crucial role in this journey to better mental health of the masses.

Online therapy options are limited, but if you can see a therapist online, it can make an immense difference.