Your privacy matters
We use cookies to measure how our site is used (analytics) and to show relevant iScript services (advertising). You choose what you allow — we respect your choice. See our Privacy Policy and POPIA notice.
Private · HPCSA-registered providers
You don’t have to carry
it on your own.
Talk to an HPCSA-registered South African doctor about low mood, anxiety, sleep, burnout or grief. Online, private, and at a time that suits you.
If you need help right now
iScript is not an emergency service. If you or someone you care about is in immediate danger, please reach one of these free South African lines. They are answered around the clock by people whose job is simply to listen and help.
These lines are free to call from South Africa. You do not need to be in crisis to phone them — they will talk to anyone who is struggling.
You are in very ordinary company
Common. Treatable.
And badly under-served.
Struggling with your mental health is not rare and it is not a personal failing. It is one of the most common health experiences in South Africa — and one of the least likely to be met with actual care.
Most people who need support never get near it. Not because they don’t want help, but because the queue is long, the fee is high, or nobody ever asked them how they were doing.
A consultation is simply a conversation with someone qualified to help you make sense of it.
30.3%
of South African adults meet criteria for a common mental disorder at some point in their lives.
Source: South African Stress and Health (SASH) study — Herman et al., SAMJ, 2009
92%
of South Africans living with a mental health condition receive no treatment at all — the national treatment gap.
Source: Docrat et al., Health Policy and Planning, 2019
5%
of the public health budget is spent on mental health services nationally.
Source: Docrat et al., Health Policy and Planning, 2019
Start with a short, private check
A few questions about how you’ve been. No cost, no commitment, nobody watching.
Start the mental health checkThe process
Four steps, and none of them are a waiting room
Step 01
A short check-in
About 5 minutes
Answer a few gentle questions about mood, sleep, stress and what has been going on. Validated screening tools help your practitioner prepare.
Step 02
Choose your time
Same day or 24–48 hrs
Pick a slot that works around your job, your family and your privacy. Urgent cases are prioritised and usually seen within 2 hours.
Step 03
Talk it through
Private video or chat
An HPCSA-registered practitioner listens properly, asks about the whole picture, and explains what they are seeing in plain language.
Step 04
Agree a way forward
Decided together
A plan you actually agree with — which may include talking therapy, lifestyle support, a referral, or medication if it is clinically appropriate.
Honest expectations
What we can and cannot promise
We can promise that you will be listened to by a qualified practitioner, that you will understand your options, and that you will not be rushed. We cannot promise a particular outcome or a timeline — mental health care rarely runs in a straight line, and anyone who guarantees recovery is not being straight with you. What we do is walk it with you and adjust as we go.
What we help with
You don’t need a label to book a consultation.
“I’m not myself lately” is a perfectly good reason to speak to a doctor. Here is some of what people bring to us.
Low mood
Feeling flat, heavy or disconnected from things you used to enjoy.
Anxiety and panic
Constant worry, racing thoughts, or panic that arrives without warning.
Sleep
Trouble falling asleep, waking at 3am, or never quite feeling rested.
Burnout and work stress
Running on empty, dreading the week, short with the people you love.
Grief and loss
Space to talk after a death, a diagnosis, a separation or a job that ended.
Repeat psychiatric scripts
Already on treatment that suits you? A doctor can review it and repeat it where clinically appropriate.
Referral to a therapist
If talking therapy is the right next step, we will connect you with someone suitable.
Focus and attention
Concerns about concentration can be assessed and discussed, with onward referral where needed.
Schedule 5 medicines, including certain ADHD stimulants, require an in-person consultation with a doctor under HPCSA rules and cannot be prescribed via telehealth alone.
“Nobody should have to be at their worst before they are allowed to ask for help.”
— iScript Health
Practitioner-led care
Who you’ll be talking to
HPCSA Registered
SA medical practitioners
Our care team is made up of HPCSA-registered Medical Doctors and Clinical Associates working under live doctor supervision, in line with HPCSA Notice 1390 of 2016.
Where a case needs specialist psychiatric input, we refer you to a registered psychiatrist. Where talking therapy is the better fit, we connect you with a therapist. You will always see who is consulting you before your call begins.
HPCSA-registered South African practitioners only
Clinical Associates supervised live by a doctor (HPCSA Notice 1390 of 2016)
Referral to a registered psychiatrist where clinically indicated
Medication is one option among several — never the default
Follow-up consultations so nothing is left hanging
Book a consultation with a doctor who has time for you
R390 consultation · HPCSA-registered practitioners · same-day slots available
Start the mental health checkYour options
What care can look like
There is no single right answer. Your practitioner will talk you through what fits your situation, and the choice stays yours.
A proper assessment
A structured conversation about symptoms, history, sleep, stress and what has changed — so that whatever comes next is based on your actual picture, not a guess.
Talking therapy
Evidence-based approaches such as cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness-based work and general counselling, with referral to a suitable therapist. Individual sessions from R450 for 45 minutes.
Medication, if it fits
Where medication is clinically appropriate it is prescribed within HPCSA scope and monitored properly, including repeats of treatment that is already working for you. Schedule 5 medicines, including certain ADHD stimulants, require an in-person consultation with a doctor.
What to expect in the consultation
- A safe, unhurried space to say it out loud
- Questions about your history, not just today
- A plan built with you rather than handed to you
- Follow-ups to see how it is actually going
- Adjustments when something is not working
- A clear answer on where to go if you need more
Self-pay rates
No medical aid? Accessible pricing for quality mental health care.
Many medical aids fund mental health consultations from savings. Cover varies by scheme and plan — please confirm with your scheme.
In their words
What people say about getting seen
“I booked at nine on a Sunday night and spoke to someone the next morning. No waiting room, no explaining myself at a reception desk.”
Nomsa D.
Soweto · iScript patient
“The doctor let me finish my sentences. That sounds like a small thing. It was not a small thing.”
Riaan van Wyk
Bloemfontein · iScript patient
“Being able to do it from my own lounge is honestly what got me to do it at all. I had been putting it off for two years.”
Farhana I.
Pietermaritzburg · iScript patient
Shared with permission. Names shortened at the patients’ request. Individual experiences vary.
Take the first step today
Private · confidential · HPCSA-registered practitioners across South Africa
Start the mental health checkYou’re in safe hands
Regulated, private, and yours alone
Qualified SA practitioners
Every practitioner on iScript is registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa and works within their full scope of practice.
Your data is protected
Fully compliant with the Protection of Personal Information Act. Your records are encrypted and never shared without your consent.
Nobody has to know
No waiting room, no reception desk, no colleague spotting your car outside a clinic. Just you and your practitioner.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Start the conversation
Whatever this is, it is easier with someone alongside you.
The first step is a short, private check-in. No cost to start, no commitment, and nothing goes anywhere without you.
Start the mental health checkHPCSA-registered providers · POPIA compliant · Available across South Africa