Therapy in Punjab
In Rawalpindi you can start therapy online or use the Institute of Psychiatry at Benazir Bhutto Hospital on Murree Road, a psychiatric unit since 1973 with adult, child and psychology services. Rescue 1122 and police 15 cover the city in an emergency.
Overview
Rawalpindi’s main public mental health service is the Institute of Psychiatry at Benazir Bhutto Hospital, an academic unit of Rawalpindi Medical University that began as a psychiatry department in 1973. Its 2020 annual report describes it as a WHO Collaborating Centre for mental health research and training for the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
The 2023 census shows a mix of languages in Rawalpindi district. Punjabi is the most common mother tongue at a little under 60 percent, followed by Urdu and Pashto, with smaller numbers of Hindko speakers. Many people are comfortable in Urdu for therapy, but some prefer to talk in the language they grew up with.
Online therapy can help when the outpatient clinic is crowded or a hospital trip is hard to fit into a working day. It does not replace a psychiatrist when medication, admission or urgent care is needed. With Safe Healing, adults 18 and over can book one-to-one Google Meet sessions with a therapist in Urdu or English, at a time that suits them.
Safe Healing therapists
No Safe Healing therapists are based in Rawalpindi yet. Sessions are online, so these approved therapists can see you wherever you are.
20 years of experienceTherapist · based in Islamabad
Approaches: Psychodynamic, Narrative therapy, Mindfulness-based, and more
5 years of experienceTherapist · based in Hyderabad, Sindh
Approaches: CBT, Solution-focused, Mindfulness-based, and more
4 years of experienceTherapist · based in Lahore
Approaches: CBT, Humanistic, Mindfulness-based, and more
4 years of experienceTherapist · based in Lahore
Approaches: CBT, Mindfulness-based, Solution-focused, and more
3 years of experienceTherapist · based in Lahore
Approaches: CBT, Mindfulness-based, Psychodynamic, and more
3 years of experienceTherapist · based in Lahore
Approaches: Mindfulness-based, Solution-focused, CBT, and more
Every profile is reviewed before it goes live. How we review therapists
In person
Hospitals and institutes with psychiatry or psychology services, from official sources. Check before you go; Safe Healing is not affiliated with them.
Murree Road
Described in its 2020 annual report as one of the country’s largest mental health facilities, with an adult outpatient department, inpatient ward, a child and adolescent mental health department, and psychological therapies such as CBT and counselling. It also provides substance use treatment and rehabilitation.
rmur.edu.pkUrgent help
If you or someone near you is in danger, call now. Safe Healing is not an emergency service.
Your rights
Mental Health Ordinance 2001, as adopted by the Punjab Mental Health (Amendment) Act 2014
Rawalpindi falls under Punjab’s mental health law. The 2014 Act brought the 2001 ordinance under the Punjab government, which protects informed consent and confidentiality and lets a person appeal an involuntary admission.
Read the sourceOne-to-one video sessions with an approved therapist, in Urdu or English, wherever you are in Rawalpindi.
FAQ
The Institute of Psychiatry at Benazir Bhutto Hospital on Murree Road. It runs an adult outpatient department, an inpatient ward, a child and adolescent service and psychological therapies, and is part of Rawalpindi Medical University.
Yes. The institute has a Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health with its own outpatient clinic. Ask at the hospital about the current referral route.
Rawalpindi is in Punjab, so the Mental Health Ordinance 2001 applies as Punjab law through the Punjab Mental Health (Amendment) Act 2014. Islamabad, next door, is under a separate federal framework.
Yes. You join a Google Meet call from wherever you are private, with no trip down Murree Road. Sessions are for adults 18 and over, in Urdu or English. They are not for emergencies.
If someone is in immediate danger, call Rescue 1122 or police 15. The Taskeen helpline on 0316-8275336 offers free support by phone and is not an emergency service.
Not yet. Every session on Safe Healing is an online video call, so you can still see an approved therapist from another city while you are in Rawalpindi.
Helpful next steps
