Mental Health Services in the Philippines: Crisis Hotlines, Free Counselling and PhilHealth Coverage

Quick Answer: In a crisis, call the NCMH Crisis Hotline on 1553 (toll-free from Luzon landlines) or 0917-899-8727, Hopeline on 0917-558-4673 or 2919, In Touch on (02) 8893-7603, or Tawag Paglaum in the Visayas on 0939-937-5433, and dial 911 if someone is in immediate danger. Beyond the hotlines, the Mental Health Act requires every regional, provincial and tertiary hospital to provide psychiatric services, PhilHealth pays ₱9,000 a year for general and ₱16,000 for specialist outpatient mental health care, and private psychiatrists charge ₱1,500 to ₱5,000 a session. This guide covers who to call, where to go, what it costs, and your rights at work and school.

If you or someone with you is in crisis right now, call the NCMH Crisis Hotline on 1553, toll-free from Luzon landlines, or 0917-899-8727; both answer 24 hours a day. Hopeline answers on 0917-558-4673, 0918-873-4673, (02) 8804-4673 and 2919, In Touch on (02) 8893-7603, and Tawag Paglaum in the Visayas on 0939-937-5433. If someone is in immediate physical danger, dial 911. For everything short of a crisis, the Mental Health Act of 2018 requires primary mental health services at your health center and psychiatric services in every regional, provincial and tertiary hospital, and PhilHealth pays ₱9,000 a year for general and ₱16,000 for specialist outpatient care. This guide covers who to call, where to get help, what it costs, and your rights at work and school. Providers are listed under clinics, hospitals and medical services on Healthcare Philippines.

Who do you call in a crisis?

• NCMH Crisis Hotline, run by the National Center for Mental Health under the DOH and set up under the Mental Health Act's implementing rules: 1553 (Luzon landlines, toll-free), 1800-1888-1553, 0919-057-1553 (Smart/TNT), 0917-899-8727 (Globe/TM). Numbers as published by MentalHealthPH and TherapyRoute in 2026.
• Hopeline, the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation's 24/7 suicide and emotional crisis line, launched with the DOH and WHO: (02) 8804-4673, 0917-558-4673, 0918-873-4673, and 2919 toll-free for Globe and TM.
• In Touch Community Services Crisis Line, free, confidential, answered 24/7 by trained volunteers: (02) 8893-7603, 0919-056-0709, 0917-800-1123 and 0917-108-5412.
• Tawag Paglaum-Centro Bisaya, the 24/7 crisis and suicide helpline of Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu, for the Visayas: 0939-937-5433 and 0939-936-5433.
• 911, the unified national emergency number, for overdoses, injuries or anyone in immediate danger; see our guide to medical emergencies.

The hotlines give initial counselling and triage you to a professional or facility. They are not a substitute for treatment, which is where the rest of this guide comes in.

What does the Mental Health Act give you?

Republic Act 11036 affirms mental health as a right and builds the system around the community. Section 15 requires primary mental health services to be integrated into basic health services at city, municipal and barangay level, which is why a rural health unit or city health office can screen you and refer you. Section 16 has the DOH fund community-based mental health facilities in provinces and cities, staffed with professionals, trained barangay health workers and a stock of medicines. Section 18 requires all regional, provincial and tertiary hospitals, including private hospitals serving paying patients, to provide psychiatric, psychosocial and neurologic services. Section 5 sets out service users' rights, including informed consent, confidentiality, and aftercare in the community. Sections 24 and 25 reach into schools and workplaces, covered below.

Where do you see a psychiatrist or psychologist, and what does it cost?

Need	Where	Cost
Immediate crisis, suicidal thoughts	NCMH Crisis Hotline, Hopeline, In Touch, Tawag Paglaum; 911 for physical danger	Free
First assessment, mild to moderate anxiety or depression	Rural health unit or city health center; general practitioner or municipal health officer trained under mhGAP	Free at the health center; PhilHealth pays the facility up to ₱9,000 a year (general package)
Psychiatrist, psychologist, psychotherapy, medicines for severe or persistent conditions	Psychiatry departments of regional, provincial and tertiary hospitals; NCMH in Mandaluyong; Philippine General Hospital; DOH specialty centers	Government hospital service rates, far below private fees; PhilHealth pays up to ₱16,000 a year (specialty package)
Private psychiatrist	Private clinics and hospitals	₱1,500 to ₱5,000 or more a session (TherapyRoute, 2025)
Private psychologist or counsellor	Private clinics, online platforms	Psychologist ₱1,500 to ₱3,500; counsellor ₱1,000 to ₱2,500; online from ₱500 (TherapyRoute, 2025)
Inpatient admission for a mental or behavioural disorder	Hospital psychiatry ward, NCMH	PhilHealth inpatient case rate ₱7,800; no balance billing in ward beds of DOH hospitals

Government hospitals are the affordable route to a psychiatrist. Under Section 18 every regional and provincial hospital must run psychiatric services, so a government hospital such as Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center in Manila, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu, which also runs Tawag Paglaum, or Region I Medical Center in Dagupan has an outpatient psychiatry clinic; our guide to government hospitals and Malasakit Centers explains the service-patient route and the no-balance-billing rule. The Philippine General Hospital publishes its psychiatry rates online. Privately, the 2025 TherapyRoute guide puts a Manila session at ₱1,000 to ₱5,000 depending on the professional. Private clinics are listed under clinics.

What does PhilHealth cover?

PhilHealth Circular 2023-0018 created the Outpatient Mental Health Services package: ₱9,000 a year for general mental health services and ₱16,000 a year for specialty services, covering screening, assessment, diagnostics, follow-up visits, psychosocial support and essential medicines, as the PhilHealth benefits page lists it. The general package is delivered by general practitioners, internists, paediatricians and municipal health officers trained under the WHO mhGAP programme; the specialty package by psychiatrists, psychologists, Level 2 and 3 hospitals and DOH-identified specialty centers. Psychiatric cases must be at least 10 years old; neurologic cases have no age limit. Before the package, the circular notes, PhilHealth paid for mental illness only through inpatient case rates of ₱7,800. The outpatient packages run through contracted facilities, so ask the clinic whether it is contracted before you rely on it; registration with a YAKAP primary care clinic is the starting point for the general package.

What are your rights at work and in school?

Work. Section 25 of the Mental Health Act requires employers to adopt mental health policies, correct stigma and discrimination, and support employees with mental health conditions in getting treatment. DOLE Department Order 208-20, issued 3 March 2020, makes a Mental Health Workplace Policy and Program mandatory in every private establishment, including recruitment agencies deploying overseas workers, drawn up with worker representatives, with a social policy covering non-discrimination, confidentiality, disclosure and work accommodation, a support mechanism for counselling, and a copy filed with the DOLE regional office as part of the occupational safety and health programme.

School. Republic Act 12080, signed 6 December 2024, requires a Care Center in every public basic education school, headed by a School Counselor who is a registered guidance counsellor or psychologist, assisted by a School Counselor Associate, and a Mental Health and Well-Being Office in every DepEd schools division; private schools must establish Care Centers too. Section 24 of the Mental Health Act already obliges every school, college and university to raise awareness, identify students at risk and refer them for treatment. Ask the guidance office; under the new law it is now the Care Center.