Every entry below comes from someone who sat in the room. We sort by how useful other readers found the account, not by how flattering it sounds. Ratings reflect consultation style, waiting time, medical aid handling and how the intake felt, and each review links to the full write-up.
Reviewed by a client in Cape Town
Four sessions in with a clinical psychologist in Observatory, and the writer describes what changed between the intake and the weeks that followed. The account covers how the CBT homework was introduced, how long the waiting room actually took on a Monday evening, and where the medical aid claim stalled before it cleared. Useful if you are weighing a first month of weekly sessions against a fortnightly start.
Helpful to 41 readers
Reviewed by a client in Johannesburg
This one is about the practical layer: how quickly the practice answered a first email, whether the telehealth link held up on a bad line, and what was explained about cancellation terms before the second appointment. The reviewer also notes the difference between what the receptionist said about medical aid authorisation and what the psychologist confirmed in session. Worth reading if you need evening slots and a practice that replies the same day.
Helpful to 28 readers
Reviewed by a client in Durban
A second stretch of therapy with the same practitioner, two years after the first ended. The reviewer writes about what it was like to come back, how the psychologist handled the gap without redoing the whole history, and what shifted in the approach from psychodynamic work toward something more structured. There is also a frank note about the awkwardness of asking for a referral during the break, and how that was resolved.
Helpful to 19 readers
Reviews on ThinkGroup are written by people who sat in the room, not by the practices themselves. Each entry covers the same ground: how the intake felt, how long the wait was, whether the practice claimed medical aid directly, and whether evening or weekend slots actually existed. Practitioners can reply, but they cannot edit what a client wrote.
4.6
Average rating across published reviews in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria
1 240
Structured reviews submitted since the directory opened, each checked before it goes live
Cape Town, Southern Suburbs
"First session was mostly questions about sleep and family, which I did not expect. I was allowed to skip the parts about my childhood and we agreed to come back to them later. Waiting time for a Tuesday evening slot was three weeks."
CBT, medical aid claimed directly
Johannesburg, Rosebank
"I switched from a counsellor to a clinical psychologist because I needed an assessment for my medical aid. The handover was easier than I feared. My previous therapist wrote a short summary and the new one read it before we met."
Psychodynamic, in-person sessions
Durban, Berea
"Telehealth suited me while I was recovering from surgery. Sessions ran on time, the connection held, and the practice sent the claim through without me chasing anyone. I still prefer the room, but this worked."
Systemic approach, telehealth
"I read four reviews before booking. What helped was the detail about the intake, not the star rating. Knowing I could say I was not ready to talk about one topic made the first hour manageable."
Reviewer from Pretoria East, seen for play therapy referral for a child
These accounts come from people who sat through intake, kept the appointments and noticed something shift. Each one names the approach, the setting and the practical snags, so you can judge whether the same conditions apply to you.
CBT, weekly, Randburg
I came in for anxiety that flared on the commute. The psychologist worked with thought records and breathing, nothing dramatic, and by week six I could take the 07:10 without rehearsing an exit plan. What helped most was that she told me upfront how many sessions she thought it would take.
Verified client, 2024
Telehealth, evenings, Cape Town
I needed evening slots and could not drive to Claremont after work. The practice offered 19:00 calls, and the connection held. We did the same work I would have done in the room. The only friction was medical aid authorisation, which took two weeks and needed a GP referral letter first.
Verified client, 2024
Play therapy, Durban North
He is seven and would not talk about what was wrong. The therapist used play sessions and spoke to us separately every fourth week. It took about three months before the mornings improved. I would tell other parents to ask how progress gets reported, because that was not obvious at the start.
Verified client, 2023
Psychodynamic, Pretoria East
This was not a short-term fix and the therapist said so in the first meeting. We met for over a year, mostly talking about patterns I kept repeating at work. The gains showed up late, which was frustrating at the time, but they have lasted. Sessions were in Afrikaans, which mattered to my mother when she joined twice.
Verified client, 2023
Systemic, couples, Johannesburg
We went as a couple after a rough year. The therapist saw us together and each of us once, then set ground rules for the sessions at home. The waiting list was eight weeks, which felt long at the time. Once we started, the structure was clear and neither of us could hijack the hour.
Verified client, 2024
Switching practitioners, Port Elizabeth
After eight months the work had stalled and I did not know how to say it. I raised it in a session, we agreed on two more meetings to close properly, and she referred me to a colleague who works with trauma. The handover note saved me repeating my history from scratch.
Verified client, 2024
These come from the mail we get after people read a review and start comparing practices. Short answers, no legal padding.
Every submission is read by a person before it goes live. We check that the practice exists, that the reviewer actually attended a session, and that the text describes something specific: waiting time, how the intake felt, whether medical aid claims went through, or how telehealth was handled. Reviews that only praise or only complain without detail are sent back for more context.
Yes. Once a listing is claimed, the practitioner can post a response underneath the review. Replies are held to the same standard as the reviews themselves, so they cannot include a client's name, diagnosis or any detail that would identify who wrote it. If a response crosses that line, we remove it and contact the practice directly.
Write to us and we will look at it the same day. Reviews are edited to remove names, suburbs that are too specific, workplace references and anything else that could point to an individual. The substance of the feedback stays; the identifying detail goes. You can reach the editorial team through the contact page.
Only when a review breaks our rules, not because it is unflattering. A practice can flag a review for factual error, and we will ask the reviewer to correct it. If the reviewer cannot back up a claim about fees, medical aid or registration, we take the claim out rather than delete the whole entry.
Filters for suburb, session language, approach and evening or weekend availability are updated as practices confirm changes. Waiting lists move quickly, so treat the directory as a starting point and confirm the practical details on the first call. If something is out of date, tell us and we will follow up with the practice. More on how we handle corrections is in the help section.