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Private · HPCSA-registered providers
How are you, really?
Not “fine” — actually.
The check clinicians use for low mood and anxiety. Private, free, read by a doctor before you talk.
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.
Before you talk to anyone
You get an answer at the end,
not a waiting list.
The check uses the same questions a clinician would ask you about mood, worry, sleep and energy. When you finish, you see where your answers sit on a calm severity band and the three things most worth raising first — so the consultation starts where you actually are rather than at “so, what brings you in?”.
Nothing is shared with anyone while you answer, and you can stop at any point.
Start the free checkWhat you get at the end
Your Mood & Anxiety result
A severity band in plain language — not a label, and not a diagnosis.
Example severity band
Three things to discuss with your doctor
- How long this has been going on, and what changed around the time it started
- Sleep, appetite and energy — the parts that usually shift first
- What has helped before, and what you want out of the consultation
An HPCSA-registered practitioner reads your result before your consultation.
Example only. Your own result is generated from your own answers.
Your result is a screening indication, not a diagnosis. It is reviewed by an HPCSA-registered practitioner, and any diagnosis or treatment is decided with you in a consultation. This is not an emergency service — in an emergency call 10177, or 112 from a mobile. Your answers are processed under POPIA with your consent, and are never shared without it.
A question we get a lot
Burnout or depression?
Burnout tends to be tied to a situation
It builds around work or caring for someone, it eases a little on leave, and it shows up as exhaustion, cynicism about the job, and feeling that nothing you do there counts. The feeling has an address.
Low mood tends to travel with you
It follows you into the weekend and the holiday. Things you used to enjoy stop landing, sleep and appetite shift, and the flatness is there whether or not you are at your desk.
In real life the two overlap constantly, and one can tip into the other. The check does not tell them apart on its own — it gives your practitioner a clear starting point, and the two of you work out which it is in the consultation.
Start the Mood & Anxiety CheckYou 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 Mood & Anxiety CheckThe process
Four steps, and none of them are a waiting room
- 01
Answer the check
Private questions, at your own pace. Free, and you can stop at any point.
- 02
See your result
An indication on screen as soon as you finish, in plain language.
- 03
Create your account and book
Choose a time that suits you. You see the practitioner before the consultation begins.
- 04
Pay or use your medical aid
From R299. Medical aid billed where your plan allows; any co-payment is shown before you confirm.
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
Fee shown before you book · HPCSA-registered practitioners · same-day slots available
Start the Mood & Anxiety 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. The therapist confirms their session fee with you before you book.
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
What a consultation costs
From R299 with a clinical associate; each doctor sets their own fee, shown before you book.
Many medical aids fund mental health consultations from savings. Cover varies by scheme and plan — please confirm with your scheme.
Take the first step today
Private · confidential · HPCSA-registered practitioners across South Africa
Start the Mood & Anxiety 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 Mood & Anxiety CheckHPCSA-registered providers · POPIA compliant · Available across South Africa