Founded in 2009. Built on one standard.
The Psychological Help Centre is a clinical psychology practice in Karachi — two clinics, a team of postgraduate-qualified psychologists, and a way of working that starts with measuring rather than guessing.
How PHC started
Prof. Dr. Tahira Yousaf founded the Psychological Help Centre in Karachi in 2009 with a single standard: every psychologist on the team must be properly qualified, properly supervised, and working within an evidence-based clinical framework.
That standard has not moved since. It is why the practice grew slowly, and it is the thing clients are actually buying when they choose us over somewhere cheaper or nearer.
The standard we hold
The minimum requirement for any practising psychologist on the team is an MSc or MPhil in clinical psychology and over 800 supervised clinical hours. Most hold an MPhil or a PhD. Experience on the team ranges from 3 to 24 years.
This is not the industry norm in Pakistan. It is the standard we hold because anything less is not clinical practice.
We do not assign therapists on availability. Assignment is based on speciality, on your presenting needs, and on clinical fit — and if the fit turns out to be wrong, you can change psychologist. If we cannot offer you a better match ourselves, we will transfer you to a psychologist elsewhere.
Assessment before treatment
Most practices start with a conversation and see where it goes. We start by measuring.
A psychological assessment is a structured clinical process. It uses internationally validated tests to produce a written report on how a person thinks, learns, processes emotion and functions day to day. Every assessment begins with an initial session that establishes which tests are clinically warranted, so nobody is put through a battery of tests they did not need.
What follows — therapy, a school report, a referral, sometimes nothing more than a clear explanation — is built on that. Parents use assessments to understand a child's learning or behavioural profile. Adults use them to make sense of patterns they cannot explain on their own. Schools and institutions use them for placement and support decisions.
The founder
Prof. Dr. Tahira Yousaf holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Karachi and has practised as a clinical psychologist for over 20 years. She has taught clinical psychology at Bahria University's Institute of Professional Psychology for over 20 years, and has trained and mentored hundreds of psychologists now practising across Pakistan and internationally.
She is an approved supervisor by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan — one of a limited number of clinical psychologists in the country to hold this designation — a certified professional trainer recognised by the International Association of People and Performance Development, and a member of the American Psychological Association. She has published research in internationally indexed journals, including work recognised by Psychological Abstracts and WHO's Regional Index Medicus, and is the author of two books written for general readers.
Her qualifications, memberships and publications are verifiable. In a field where credential inflation is a known problem in Pakistan, that matters.
The team
PHC has over 15 clinical psychologists based in Karachi. The profiles on our team page are the clinicians currently accepting bookings, each listed with their qualification, the areas their own practice covers, and their supervised clinical hours wherever their own credentials state a figure — no more than that, and nothing we cannot evidence.
Alongside the clinical team, PHC runs an HEC-approved clinical supervision programme and a competitive internship placement for BS, MSc and MPhil psychology students, who work real casework to the same professional and ethical standards as everyone else here.
Where we work
In clinic in PECHS — Plot 59A, Street 1 Rd, Shaheed-e-Millat Rohail Khand Society, Karachi 74800 — Monday to Saturday, 10am to 8pm PKT, and in DHA, Phase 8, Zone A, where the Hypno-yoga programme runs.
Online, we work with clients across Pakistan including Islamabad and Lahore, and with international clients in the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, Germany, Kuwait, across Africa and beyond. Our client base is global, diverse, and not limited to any background, nationality or faith.
We also work with schools, on student wellbeing, teacher support and parent awareness.
What we do not do
We do not offer shortcuts. We do not diagnose anyone through a website, and nothing you read here is a diagnosis or a treatment plan.
PHC is an appointment-only practice and is not a crisis or emergency service. If you need help immediately, there are faster routes than us.
And if what you need is outside our scope, we will say so and point you somewhere better. That is not us turning work away. It is the same standard, applied at the door.
Talk to us
Read what clients have said, look through the team, or book an appointment. To match you to the right psychologist we need six details: patient name, age, presenting issue, preferred psychologist gender, online or in-person, and whether the patient is a minor or elderly.
Not sure if this is us? Ask. We will tell you directly whether we can help, and refer you elsewhere if we cannot.
Everything on this page is general information about our practice. It is not a diagnosis, not treatment, and reading it does not create a clinician–client relationship.
Speaking to someone starts here
PHC is appointment-only. Message or call and a real person answers — Monday to Saturday, 10am to 8pm PKT.
Not sure whether this is us? Contact us anyway. We will tell you directly whether we can help, and refer you elsewhere if we cannot.
Six details, and we can match you
- Name of the person who will attend
- Their age
- What is going on, in your own words
- Whether you would prefer a male or female psychologist
- Online, or in clinic in Karachi
- Whether the person attending is a minor or elderly
If someone else is paying, we will also ask for guardian or payer details. A slot is held once the booking payment is received — half the fee, at least 24 hours ahead.