Details checked 3 November 2026

Mental health services in Abuja and the FCT

Where to get public psychiatric care, drug and alcohol treatment and help after abuse in the FCT, with the numbers to ring.

See the servicesTalk to a therapist online

Getting help in Abuja and the FCT

Where to start

The FCT has no neuropsychiatric hospital of its own, but two federal hospitals see psychiatric emergencies at any hour: National Hospital in Garki, which also runs a drug and alcohol treatment centre, and the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital in Gwagwalada, through its 24-hour accident and emergency unit. Garki Hospital, owned by the FCT Administration and run privately, has weekday mental health clinics.

The FCT Hospitals Management Board says psychiatry is available at Wuse, Asokoro and Kubwa hospitals, though the hospitals' own pages don't mention it, so ring before you go. The nearest specialist psychiatric hospital is the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Barnawa, Kaduna.

For a child who has been sexually abused, the Cece Yara Foundation in Wuse 2 runs a free child helpline. Our guide to psychiatric hospitals in Abuja covers the private options and what a first visit is like.

Abuja draws people from every part of the country, and English, Hausa and Pidgin are all widely spoken. Some of our therapists are based in the FCT, and every session is online.

3 services

Psychiatric hospitals and clinics

Federal teaching and referral hospital · Garki

National Hospital Abuja, Department of Psychiatry

  • Psychiatry emergency room, open round the clock
  • Outpatient psychiatry clinics on weekdays
  • Family, couple and group therapy
  • Drug and alcohol treatment centre: one month of inpatient detox, then outpatient care and counselling

You can come on your own, with family or with a referral. Emergencies go straight to the psychiatry emergency room.

Plot 132, Central Business District (Phase II), Garki, Abuja
0706 563 3018 · appointment centre0903 009 7889 · general enquiries

Appointment centre: weekdays 8.30am to 8pm, weekends 8.30am to 12.30pm. Emergencies don't need an appointment.

Details from the institution's own website, checked 3 November 2026.

Federal teaching hospital · Gwagwalada

University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Mental Health department

  • Psychiatric care, counselling and therapy
  • Clinics Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm, by appointment
  • Emergencies through the 24-hour accident and emergency unit
Mental Health Building, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada
0704 004 5614 · main line and A&E
uath.gov.ng

Details from the institution's own website, checked 3 November 2026.

FCT Administration hospital, privately run · Garki

Garki Hospital Abuja, Mental Health

  • Psychiatric and psychological care with Synapse Services, including addiction treatment
  • Children and adolescents, mothers before and after birth, and older people, including dementia
  • Inpatient care
  • Clinics Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm; A&E open 24 hours
Tafawa Balewa Way, Area 8, Garki, Abuja
0809 569 8080 · appointments0817 463 6860 · A&E
garkihospital.com

Details from the institution's own website, checked 3 November 2026.

1 service

State programmes and community care

FCT Hospitals Management Board hospitals · Wuse, Asokoro and Kubwa

Wuse, Asokoro and Kubwa hospitals

  • The FCT Hospitals Management Board says psychiatry services are available at all three

The hospitals' own pages don't list psychiatry, so ring first to ask which days a psychiatrist is in.

Wuse District Hospital, 15 Conakry Street, Wuse Zone 3. Asokoro District Hospital, 31 Julius Nyerere Crescent, Asokoro. Kubwa General Hospital, Okitipupa Crescent, by Kempe Street, Phase IV, Kubwa
0809 286 8157 · Wuse District Hospital office

Asokoro and Kubwa publish no number.

hmb.fcta.gov.ng

Details from the institution's own website, checked 3 November 2026.

1 service

Help with drugs and alcohol

Federal drug agency centre · Gudu

NDLEA FCT Command counselling and rehabilitation centre

  • Counselling and psychosocial support
  • Help returning to work, school and family life

For people who aren't physically dependent, or who have finished a medically supervised withdrawal. Anyone dependent on alcohol, sedatives or opioids should see a hospital first.

Plot 1093, Joseph Gomwalk Street, Gudu, Abuja
0800 1020 3040 · NDLEA helpline, free

No number for the centre itself. The NDLEA helpline can confirm the address.

ndlea.gov.ng

Details from the institution's own website, checked 3 November 2026.

1 service

After rape, sexual or domestic violence

Charity for children after sexual abuse · Wuse 2

Cece Yara Child Advocacy Centre, Abuja

  • Free 24-hour helpline for children
  • Counselling, medical and legal help, shelter and psychosocial support for children and their families
  • Can arrange emergency help in Abuja
House D2, 2nd Avenue, Salatu Royale Estate, Wuse 2, Abuja
0800 800 8001 · child helpline, free, 24 hours0700 700 7001 · paid line for adults
ceceyara.org

Details from the institution's own website, checked 3 November 2026.

Free or low-cost lines

Lines you can call from anywhere in Nigeria

These answer callers in Abuja and the FCT and across the country. The full list, including lines for violence and trafficking, is on our helplines page.

  • National emergency number

    If someone is in danger right now. The nationwide rollout isn't finished, so if 112 doesn't connect, go to the nearest hospital emergency unit.

    112 (toll-free)

    Police, fire and ambulance

  • Safe Place Nigeria

    Trained counsellors from She Writes Woman. Anyone in Nigeria can call, and you don't need call credit.

  • Lagos Lifeline

    Free crisis support and counselling from the Lagos State Ministry of Health. Open to anyone in Nigeria, not only Lagos.

  • SURPIN

    Suicide Research and Prevention Initiative. Trained counsellors for emotional support and crisis help.

    0800 078 77460908 021 7555

    Its site says its toll-free line is answered 24 hours

  • MANI (Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative)

    A mental health charity. Its "Get help now" button opens WhatsApp.

    0916 841 7413 (WhatsApp)0809 111 6264

    Hours aren't published on its site

  • NDLEA drug helpline

    Support for anyone affected by drug use, their own or someone else's. In English, Pidgin, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.

Talking therapy

Therapists based in Abuja

Hospitals are the place for emergencies, admission and medication. For talking therapy, Mytherapist.ng sessions happen by video, voice or chat, so you can see a licensed therapist from home in Abuja and the FCT without waiting for a clinic day. 11 of our therapists are based in Abuja.

See therapists in Abuja

Good to know

Getting help in Abuja and the FCT: common questions

Where can I take someone for a psychiatric emergency in Abuja?

National Hospital in Garki has a psychiatry emergency room open 24 hours, and the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital in Gwagwalada takes emergencies through its 24-hour accident and emergency unit. If someone is in danger right now, call 112.

Is there drug and alcohol treatment in Abuja?

National Hospital runs a drug and alcohol treatment centre with a one-month inpatient detox programme followed by outpatient care. The NDLEA also runs a free helpline that offers support at any hour.

Is there a neuropsychiatric hospital in Abuja?

No. The nearest federal neuropsychiatric hospital is in Barnawa, Kaduna. In the FCT, psychiatric care is at National Hospital, UATH, Garki Hospital and some district hospitals.

Keep reading

More on getting help

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