Safe Places opened in Kyambogo, Kampala, in 2017 as a private centre for mental health, neurological and addiction treatment. A second centre followed at Bujjuko, along Mityana–Fort Portal Road, where residential clients live during treatment. Between the two sites we provide out-patient appointments, residential care, medical detoxification, psychiatric admission, assessment and diagnosis, therapy, and long-running support programmes for families, workplaces, schools, and communities.

Why we exist

Seeking care for mental illness or addiction in Uganda can mean facing stigma, cost, distance, and long waits for the few services that exist. Safe Places was set up to make good care easier to reach. Our mission is to bridge that gap with quality, holistic, meaningful, and accessible care. Our vision is to set a standard for mental-health interventions and recovery care in Uganda, an ambition we hold ourselves to rather than a status we claim.

Safe Places Uganda LTD is a licensed healthcare provider offering mental-health and addiction services through appropriately qualified professionals.

How we treat

Our clinical approach is biopsychosocial. In practice this means we look at the body, the mind, and the person’s social life together. Medication may be prescribed and reviewed by the psychiatric team where clinically needed. Psychotherapy — individual, group, couple, and family — addresses the thinking, feelings, experiences and relationships around the person and the condition. The environment matters too, which is why the residential centre is set up around quiet, routine, nutritious meals, and space to recover. Spiritual support is available to clients who want it, and is never imposed.

No two treatment plans are the same, because care decisions follow from individual assessment rather than from a menu.

Who works here

The team spans psychiatry, psychology, mental-health nursing, social work, counselling, addiction counselling, therapy, and recovery coaching. Different conditions and interventions need different combinations of these disciplines, and a client’s plan says who is involved and why. You can read about the people behind these roles on our Team page.

Our residential service is for adults; assessment at our out-patient centre is available at any age, with under-18s seen with a parent or guardian. Students are supported through our school programmes, and where a young person needs clinical treatment, it involves parents or guardians — through our out-patient service where appropriate, or by referral to specialist child and adolescent services.

What we value

Six commitments guide the organisation: client-centred care, professionalism, excellence, hope and spiritual openness, active opposition to stigma, and being a thoughtful employer and service provider. The anti-stigma commitment shapes our language as much as our clinical work. You will not find the words “addict” or “crazy” used about anyone here, because a person is not their diagnosis.

Who we work alongside

Safe Places works with the Ministry of Health, the Addiction Prevention & Rehabilitation Association of Uganda, the National Working Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, the Uganda Counselling Association, and the Uganda Alcohol Policy Alliance.

Two centres

Kyambogo (out-patient): Plot 12, Lancaster Avenue, Kyambogo Lower Estates, Kampala. Consultations, assessments, out-patient treatment, several support groups, and Employee Assistance Programmes.

Bujjuko (residential): about 19 km along Mityana–Fort Portal Road from Kampala. Residential treatment for addictions, medical detoxification and psychiatric admission, in a setting deliberately removed from the noise of the city.

To ask a question or arrange a consultation, call +256 770 700944 or write to info@safeplacesuganda.com.

The clinicians, directors, and support staff behind this work are introduced, with their qualifications, on the Team page.