Quick answer: International students in Italy get the most out of therapy on three fronts: the adjustment year, academic pressure in a second language, and the distance from home that makes everything else heavier. University counselling is free and usually short and in Italian; private multilingual therapy starts within days and continues for as long as the work needs. The main barrier is not cost, it is not knowing that you are allowed to ask.
Therapsy is a multilingual psychotherapy service in Italy that connects expats, international students and Italians with licensed therapists in their own language, online across the country and in person in 23 Italian cities.
Key takeaways
- Studying in a second language costs cognitive effort all day, and that cost is usually mistaken for not being good enough.
- Barriers to asking for help among students have been studied directly: a systematic review and meta-analysis examined help-seeking intentions, behaviours and barriers in college students.
- University counselling and private therapy are not competitors: one is free and time-limited, the other is continuous and in your language.
- Therapy with a licensed professional is confidential: it is not shared with your university, your visa file or your family.
- Homesickness that does not lift after the first semester is worth treating, not waiting out.
- Therapsy works in 14 languages, with a free first conversation and a reply within 12 hours.
What do international students in Italy actually struggle with?
The first semester, and then the second
The first semester is survived on novelty and logistics: permesso di soggiorno, enrolment, housing, a new city. The second is when it lands. The excitement has gone, the coursework is real, and the friendships are still shallow. Most students who ask for help do it here, and almost all of them believe they should have adjusted by now.
Studying and being examined in a second language
Reading in a second language is slower, note-taking is worse, and an oral exam in Italian asks you to think and perform at once. Students routinely read this as evidence that they are not capable, when the evidence actually shows they are doing the same work with a permanent tax on it.
Family expectations at a distance
Many international students are carrying a family’s investment and pride. That makes a bad grade heavier than it is, and it makes admitting difficulty at home feel impossible. The calls stay positive and the pressure stays private.
Loneliness inside a busy timetable
There are people everywhere, which makes it harder to name. Student life provides constant contact and very little of the closeness that took years to build at home. That gap is the standard form of loneliness abroad, and more events do not close it.
Why do students wait so long to ask?
What do the barriers look like?
Not knowing what counts as bad enough. Assuming it will be reported to the university or affect a visa. Not knowing what it costs. Believing everyone else is coping. These have been researched rather than assumed: a systematic review and meta-analysis of help-seeking intentions, behaviours and barriers in college students looked at the gap between intending to ask for help and actually doing it.
Is it confidential?
Yes. A licensed psychologist in Italy is bound by professional confidentiality. Therapy is not shared with your department, your scholarship office or your residence permit file, and your family is not informed. If anything about that is unclear, ask the professional to state it explicitly in the first session; a serious one will.
Do you need to be in crisis?
No, and waiting for a crisis is the most expensive way to use therapy. Adjustment difficulty, low mood, procrastination that has become paralysis and exam anxiety are all ordinary reasons to start.
University counselling or private therapy?
What does the university offer?
Most Italian universities have a counselling service, typically free and limited to a small number of sessions, usually in Italian and sometimes with a waiting list that matters when exams are three weeks away. It is genuinely useful, and it is designed for short interventions.
When is private therapy the better fit?
When you need your own language, when the work is longer than a handful of sessions, when you want to keep the same therapist across the years of a degree, or when the waiting list does not match the deadline. Many students use both: the university service for the immediate, private therapy for the pattern underneath.
What does private therapy cost?
At Therapsy individual sessions start from EUR 70, with the same fee online and in person; the pricing page has the full list. Psychological care is generally deductible as a health expense in the Italian tax return, which is relevant if you or your family file here, so keep the invoices.
Can sessions fit around a timetable?
That is what online sessions are for: no travel, a fixed weekly slot, and the same therapist if you change city for an Erasmus term or go home for the summer. In-person sessions are available in 23 Italian cities.
What does the work look like?
What happens in the first sessions?
An assessment of what is happening now, what you have already tried, your language and your practical constraints, then a plan with a point at which you review it. At Therapsy the first conversation is free and happens with the Clinical Director, who proposes a therapist and explains the reasoning.
What changes first?
Usually behaviour before mood: getting back to a routine, reopening a subject that had been avoided, and the self-criticism after a bad exam becoming shorter. The grade average is a lagging indicator, not the first one.
Which language should you work in?
The one you think in when you are tired. Studying in Italian or English all day does not make it the right language for a session; if anything it is the argument for using your own. Our therapists work across 14 languages.
Frequently asked questions
Can international students in Italy get therapy in their own language?
Yes. Therapsy works in 14 languages, online across Italy and in person in 23 cities, and language is part of the match rather than an extra request.
Is therapy confidential from my university and my family?
Yes. A licensed psychologist in Italy is bound by professional confidentiality, and sessions are not reported to your university, your scholarship office or your family.
How much does therapy cost for a student in Italy?
At Therapsy individual sessions start from EUR 70, online or in person. University counselling services are usually free but short, in Italian, and sometimes have waiting lists.
Should I use my university counselling service or a private therapist?
Use the university service for something immediate and short. Private therapy fits better when you need your own language, longer work, or continuity across the years of your degree. Many students use both.
Is homesickness a real reason to see a therapist?
Yes, particularly when it has not eased after the first semester or when it is interfering with studying, sleeping or making friends. No diagnosis is needed to ask for an assessment.
Will therapy affect my student visa or permesso di soggiorno?
No. Private therapy with a licensed psychologist is confidential health care and is not part of your immigration file.
