Get Better, Together
Iraq's Ministry of Health reports fewer than one mental health worker per 100,000 residents, one of the thinnest ratios in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. Grouport connects you with a licensed therapist over HIPAA-secure video right away, seating you inside a 6-12 person group for $32 per session or $140 per month, no clinic visit required.

Understanding the landscape of mental health care access and the challenges
residents face across the state.
The World Health Organization's Mental Health Atlas classifies Iraq among the most under-resourced systems in the region, with the vast majority of the country's roughly 300 psychiatrists concentrated in Baghdad. Grouport bypasses this geographic bottleneck by matching residents of Basra, Mosul, Najaf, Kirkuk, and every governorate in between to the same licensed clinicians through an internet connection and a smartphone.
UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGE
Iraq's mental health infrastructure never recovered from the loss of the Ibn Rushd Psychiatric Teaching Hospital during the 2003 conflict and the subsequent brain drain that saw an estimated 75% of the country's psychiatrists emigrate. WHO's most recent country profile shows the reporting rate for mental health workers rounding to zero per 100,000, and Human Rights Watch has documented that only two governorates operate dedicated inpatient psychiatric units. For a population of 44 million, the practical result is that most Iraqis have never had the option to see a mental health professional.
The consequences are measurable. Iraq's suicide rate rose 55% between 2015 and 2021 according to figures compiled by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, and internally displaced populations in Anbar and Nineveh show PTSD prevalence above 35% in International Organization for Migration surveys. When people do seek help, out-of-pocket spending accounts for roughly 76% of total health expenditure, pricing private psychiatry beyond reach for most households living on the median monthly wage of around 700,000 IQD.
Grouport was built for exactly this arithmetic. A single weekly session with a licensed clinician in a small peer group costs $32 (roughly 42,000 IQD), less than a taxi across Baghdad plus the consultation fee at a private clinic. There is no referral needed, no waitlist at a government hospital, and no travel to Baghdad's Bab Al-Muadham medical district. Your therapist is credentialed, the video platform is HIPAA-encrypted, and the schedule accommodates Iraq's Sunday-through-Thursday work week.
Because Iraq's fixed broadband penetration reached only 22% in 2024 per ITU data while mobile internet subscriptions exceed 88 per 100 people, Grouport sessions run on standard mobile video and require no specialist software. Provincial cities like Sulaymaniyah, Karbala, and Ramadi gain access to the same licensed clinicians that a resident of Baghdad's Karrada district would, and the immediate group start window replaces the WHO-documented 20-week average wait for a specialist appointment at a public psychiatric outpatient department.
Iraq's national mental health strategy, endorsed in 2019, called for integrating psychological care into 2,000 primary health centers by 2025. WHO's 2024 progress review found fewer than 400 centers had trained staff on staff, leaving most Iraqis without a local point of entry to the mental health system.
Iraq's minimum public-sector wage sits at 350,000 IQD per month (about $267), and World Bank purchasing-power data places household median monthly spending at roughly $520. Against this, a $140 Grouport subscription buys four weekly group sessions with a licensed therapist plus curriculum materials. The same $140 would cover perhaps one to two private psychiatry visits in Baghdad with no continuity of care, or a single round-trip flight from Basra to the capital to see a specialist. The math consistently favors online group therapy for anyone in Iraq who needs sustained, weekly support rather than an episodic prescription refill.
In-person care in Iraq carries substantial ancillary costs that never appear on the clinic invoice. A patient traveling from Amarah to Baghdad for a specialist appointment loses a full workday plus 40,000-60,000 IQD in shared-taxi and lodging expenses. Women in more conservative governorates often require a mahram accompaniment, doubling the travel expense. Medications, when available in the private market, run 30,000-90,000 IQD per month per prescription. Grouport's $140 monthly total eliminates travel, lodging, and time off work, and group therapy relies on clinician-led skills training rather than pharmacotherapy.
Public psychiatric services in Iraq require a general practitioner referral followed by a queue that WHO documented at 20 weeks on average. Private clinics offer faster access but at prices that outrun most household budgets. Grouport matches you to a small group and begins sessions right after intake, on your schedule, with no referral, no queue, and no clinic visit.
Private psychiatric consultations in Baghdad's Mansour and Jadriya districts commonly run 75,000-150,000 IQD (roughly $57-$115) per session, and follow-up frequency is typically monthly at best. Grouport delivers weekly clinician-led sessions for $32 each, a fraction of what a single private visit costs in country.
Choose your desired online therapy group and sign up for our weekly plan. Most of our groups are $35/session, but our skills groups are $25/session.
We’ll ensure you're matched to an online therapy group that best fits your mental health challenges and schedule. Don’t worry if you’re not entirely sure which group is right for you, as after signing up, a care coordinator can help make sure you get started in the group that’s right for you. We typically match you to a group right away!
Join your group over video chat at the same time each week for 60-minute sessions. You’ll meet with the same members & therapist with a group of up to 12 members. Additional membership perks can include weekly handouts, symptom tracking, and one-off workshops.
Grouport groups are organized around specific clinical themes rather than mixed-issue support circles. Iraqis have joined groups focused on anxiety, depression, PTSD and trauma processing, grief following bereavement, relationship distress, and dialectical behavior therapy skills for emotion regulation. Each group is capped at 12 participants and led by a licensed therapist working from a structured evidence-based curriculum.
Relationship Issues, Codependency, Attachment Issues, Divorce, Loneliness, Anger Management, Self-Esteem, Grief & Loss, Chronic Illness, Gender Dysphoria, Infertility, Fertility Treatment & IVF Support, Pregnancy Loss & Miscarriage, Couples Issues, Parenting, Supporting a loved one, LGBTQIA Support
Self-Harm, Suicidal Ideation, Self-injury, Suicide Survival
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure Response Prevention (ERP), Exposure Therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Psychodynamic Therapy, Motivational Interviewing (MI), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT), Narrative Therapy, Schema Therapy, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Somatic Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), Behavioral Activation

Our therapists represent a wide range of clinical specialties & diverse backgrounds. They all undergo the most stringent credentialing process. Grouport therapists are caring, expert mental health professionals with years of experience helping people get the tools they need to see long-lasting change.
Every Grouport clinician holds an active clinical license and has completed at least a master's-level degree in clinical social work, counseling psychology, or marriage and family therapy. Because Iraq's psychiatrist-to-population ratio rounds to zero per 100,000 in WHO reporting, matching with a licensed international clinician over video is frequently the only pathway to a credentialed professional. Sessions run in English and matching completes right away.
a healthier future starts right here
80% of our members start with moderate to severe mental health symptoms
70% of our members feel significantly better within just 8 weeks
50% of our members achieve remission levels within just 8 weeks
80%
of our members start with moderate to severe mental health symptoms
70%
of our members feel significantly better within just 8 weeks
50%
of our members achieve remission levels within just 8 weeks
Find your Group

Group, individual, couples, family, IOP, and teen therapy — all online, all therapist-led. Mix and match care options to fit your needs — and get discounted pricing when you bundle.
$35/session
billed at $140/month
Get Started

Check out how our services have helped our members see life-changing results
Stephanie

“Grouport is time flexible and affordable and if it didn’t exist, I don’t know where I would go. I had looked into other places before Grouport and there really wasn’t any option like it.”
Michael

“I highly recommend this to anyone who is struggling with anxiety or depression. The therapists are top notch and have made me feel really comfortable and my anxiety has improved tremendously in only a few sessions!”
Isabel

"I joined Grouport to work on myself and to heal. I’m learning so much at every session! The change I see not only in myself but in my fellow group members is abundantly encouraging and profoundly fulfilling. Group therapy with Grouport is a powerful healing tool."
Sheldon

“I was feeling very down at the end of 2020 and I was ready to do something drastic that I know I'd likely regret. The group definitely helped show me that there are people who feel the same way as I do.”
Nancy

“The therapy from Grouport is high quality and convenient. I am becoming much more self aware and am liking myself more. My relationships at work are better and I’m much happier.”
Emily

“I like the connection you can make with total strangers and the confidentiality it comes with.”
Danielle

"Grouport can help you with your issues. Their therapists are well trained to work with you on your issues. I felt my anxiety greatly improve after only a few sessions. I highly recommend it!"
Glenn

"Grouport's approach to DBT is a real strength. This approach provides tools and methods for working with difficult emotions and getting a handle on them. It has given me hope where other approaches have failed."
Local options in Iraq are concentrated in a small number of public hospitals, university clinics, and NGO-run programs in Baghdad, Erbil, and Basra, and most focus on medication management or short-term counseling rather than ongoing group work. Specialists in areas like CBT, DBT skills, anxiety, or trauma-informed care are scarce outside those cities, and confidentiality concerns in close-knit communities can make people hesitant to seek help locally.
Grouport is structured differently. Sessions are conducted entirely online in English with licensed therapists, so you are not limited to the specialties available in your governorate and you are not seen by anyone in your neighborhood. Groups are small, topic-specific, and meet weekly for a defined arc, giving you a consistent cohort and a curriculum rather than a one-off appointment. Payment is handled internationally by card in US dollars, and because there is no insurance intermediary, scheduling and continuity do not depend on the local system. It is a complement to, not a replacement for, any local psychiatric care you may already have.
Iraq has effectively zero mental health workers per 100,000 people in the public-sector count, and in-person appointments frequently carry waits of around 20 weeks. Decades of conflict have concentrated the small specialist workforce in a handful of Baghdad and Erbil facilities, so people in Basra, Mosul, Najaf, or smaller towns often face long travel, security considerations, and time away from work or family just to be seen once.
Online group therapy with Grouport removes those bottlenecks. Sessions run over secure video from a phone or laptop with a stable internet connection, so you do not need to travel or take a full day off to attend. You are matched into a small group led by a licensed clinician, and you can join from anywhere in the country on the same terms. For people who have been on a waitlist for months or simply cannot find a local specialist in their area of concern, this makes weekly, structured group support realistically available.
Baghdad Governorate, Basra Governorate, Nineveh Governorate, Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Duhok Governorate, Anbar Governorate, Kirkuk Governorate, Najaf Governorate, Karbala Governorate, Diyala Governorate, Wasit Governorate, Babil Governorate, Dhi Qar Governorate, Salah al-Din Governorate, Maysan Governorate, Muthanna Governorate, Qadisiyyah Governorate.
Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk, Najaf, Karbala, Nasiriyah, Amarah, Duhok, Ramadi, Fallujah, Samarra, Tikrit, Baqubah, Hillah, Kut, Diwaniyah, Zakho, Halabja, Sinjar, Tal Afar, Al-Qaim.
Grouport serves all zip codes across Iraq. If you have an address in Iraq, Grouport can serve you regardless of your zip code.
Let’s find the right therapist match for you, so you can get consistent & effective care.
