Africa is a richly diverse continent of 54 countries. It has the second largest population of all seven continents, more than double the size of North America's. While traditional indigenous African healing practices have long addressed psychological health and well-being, the history of clinical psychology on the continent is relatively new. Currently, mental health services are significantly under-resourced across Africa, yielding a substantial treatment gap. Only 19 African countries have state-endorsed mental health policies and ten have professional associations of psychologists. Countries vary widely in their approach to mental health training but graduate training programmes in clinical psychology are generally uncommon. Higher education institutions that do provide psychology training typically do so under the auspices of their teacher training programmes. While a variety of counselling courses are offered in academic and private institutions, applied psychology degrees at postgraduate level are few and far between.Where diagnostic nosology is concerned, limited research makes it difficult to know the full extent to which classification systems such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) and International Classification of Diseases (ICD) are used by psychologists in Africa. Research has shown that one or both are used to varying degrees. Theories of psychological development and psychotherapy taught in clinical psychology programs are generally in keeping with those taught at American and European institutions. The indigenisation of western psychotherapy models has primarily meant adapting therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, to local settings. A broader evidence base for these adaptations is necessary, but they remain of particular relevance to the global mental health (GMH) movement.The GMH movement is driven by the imperative to equitable mental health across all income contexts. Central to its aims are the development and implementation of effective and accessible interventions so as to reduce the treatment gap. Despite resource limitations, and possibly even because of them, researchers in many African countries have played an important role in this movement. Studies from various African countries have generated substantial evidence for more innovative approaches to mental health intervention, including task shifting psycho-social interventions to non-specialist health workers. In these contexts, specialists such as clinical psychologists are likely to play greater roles in the development of interventions, as well as the training and supervision of non-specialists.