Where can I get help for emotional distress or anxiety? Official help routes and psychiatry in Hong Kong
Psychiatry deals with disorders of mood, mental state and behaviour (Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, Specialty Descriptions, April 2025). The 18111 Mental Health Support Hotline provides support and referral 24 hours a day for people with mental health needs; other routes include the Social Welfare Department's Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness, the ‘Healthy Mind Pilot Project’ at some District Health Centres, and Hospital Authority psychiatric specialist outpatient clinics (Government paper to the Legislative Council, March 2026).
What does psychiatry deal with?
Psychiatry deals with disorders of mood, mental state and behaviour, and comes under The Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists (Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, Specialty Descriptions, April 2025); the specialty name on the Medical Council's register is Psychiatry (S24). Symptoms commonly dealt with in psychiatry include depression, tension, panic and sleep problems (Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, Specialty Descriptions, Chinese description, April 2025). For how to check specialist registration and public and private fees, see How to choose a psychiatrist.
Which treatment or referral is needed is decided by the treating doctor according to the situation.
Where can I get help for emotional distress or anxiety?
The table below lists the routes run by the Government and subvented organisations, and private psychiatry (compiled by this site; sources are given below the table); in an emergency, go to the Accident and Emergency Department.
| Route | Service and who it is for | How to start |
|---|---|---|
| ‘18111 – Mental Health Support Hotline’ (Health Bureau) | Launched in December 2023; one-stop support 24 hours a day, providing immediate mental health support for people of different backgrounds and ages; from November 2025 it supports 12 languages and instant messaging | Call 18111 |
| Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness (Social Welfare Department) | 25 across Hong Kong (from March 2026); serve persons in mental recovery, people with mental health needs, secondary school students, their families and carers, and residents of the district, providing one-stop district support from prevention to crisis management | Ask the centre in your district |
| District Health Centre ‘Healthy Mind Pilot Project’ | From August 2024, at Tuen Mun District Health Centre and the Yau Tsim Mong and Eastern District Health Centre Expresses, free preliminary mental health assessment for members aged 18 or above; those with mild to moderate anxiety or depressive symptoms can receive low-intensity psychological therapy; the Government plans to extend it to six more in 2026 | Become a member of the relevant District Health Centre or District Health Centre Express |
| Hospital Authority psychiatric specialist outpatient clinics | New cases are usually first assessed by a nurse and then reviewed by a specialist, and classified as urgent, semi-urgent or stable | A referral letter issued by a locally registered doctor within the last three months |
| Private psychiatry | As arranged by the hospital or clinic | Book directly; see How to choose a psychiatrist |
How long was the wait for new cases in public psychiatry in 2024/25?
In 2024/25 the median waiting time for new cases at Hospital Authority adult psychiatric specialist outpatient clinics was 1 week for the first priority category, 3 weeks for the second priority category and 21 weeks for the routine category; for child and adolescent psychiatry, the medians were less than 1 week, 2 weeks and 77 weeks respectively (Secretary for Health's reply to the Legislative Council, October 2025).
If a patient's mental condition changes while waiting, the patient can return to the original psychiatric specialist outpatient clinic for reassessment to see whether the appointment should be brought forward, or go to an Accident and Emergency Department (Secretary for Health's reply to the Legislative Council, October 2025); for each cluster's figures, see Public waiting times for psychiatry.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 18111 hotline available 24 hours?
The 18111 Mental Health Support Hotline provides one-stop, 24-hour support services, giving immediate mental health support to people of different backgrounds and ages; from November 2025 it also offers instant messaging, multilingual support and scheduled calls (Government paper to the Legislative Council, March 2026).
What is the ‘Healthy Mind Pilot Project’?
The project was launched in August 2024 at Tuen Mun District Health Centre and the Yau Tsim Mong and Eastern District Health Centre Expresses, providing free preliminary mental health assessment for members aged 18 or above; those with mild to moderate anxiety or depressive symptoms can be referred to service providers in the same district for low-intensity psychological therapy, and high-risk cases are referred to services such as the Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness; the Government plans to extend it to six more District Health Centres or District Health Centre Expresses in 2026 (Government paper to the Legislative Council, March 2026).