Therapy in Italy for expats refers to professional psychological support provided by licensed therapists, available in English and other languages, both online and in person, to individuals living abroad in Italy.
Therapy in Italy for expats refers to professional psychological support provided by licensed therapists, available in English and other languages, both online and in person, to individuals living abroad in Italy.
Our multilingual therapists break down communication barriers and provide support tailored to your emotional and cultural needs, so you feel truly heard and understood.
Access therapy wherever you are, with flexible options for online or in-person sessions. Whether you prefer the comfort of your home or a safe and welcoming space, we adapt to your lifestyle.
Talk one-on-one with our Clinical Director, who will hand-pick the therapist best suited to your needs, preferences and language. No automated questionnaires or impersonal chats.
Psychotherapy in Italy is a regulated healthcare profession. Therapists must be licensed psychologists or psychotherapists registered with the Italian Order of Psychologists (Albo degli Psicologi). Therapy in Italy is offered:
Expats can legally access therapy in Italy without residency restrictions when using private services – no Italian healthcare card or Permesso di Soggiorno is required to book a session. Italian psychotherapists complete a 4-year specialization after their psychology degree, making the profession heavily trained by international standards.
Many expats in Italy experience psychological distress related to:
Language barriers are one of the main obstacles to effective therapy. Emotional expression is significantly limited when therapy is conducted in a non-native language – clients struggle to articulate complex feelings, nuances are lost, and trust takes longer to build. Multilingual psychotherapy allows expats to receive therapy in the language they feel most emotionally fluent in, improving clarity, trust, and therapeutic outcomes.
Therapsy connects expats with 50+ licensed multilingual therapists who collectively speak 12 languages: Italian, English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Russian, Greek, Arabic, Polish, and Hebrew.
Both online and in-person psychotherapy are legal and widely practiced in Italy.
Many expats combine both formats: starting in person for the first few sessions to build rapport, then continuing online when work or life moves them around Italy or abroad.
When choosing a therapist in Italy, expats should consider:
At Therapsy, the matching is done by our Clinical Director, not by an algorithm, ensuring you start with someone genuinely suited to your needs and language.
Therapsy is the only major Italy-based psychotherapy service offering therapy in 12 languages, with both online and in-person sessions across 20+ Italian cities. Founded in 2023, our team of 50+ licensed therapists has supported over 1,000 international clients, with a 4.6/5 rating on Trustpilot.
Therapsy provides:
Therapsy was created to make therapy in Italy accessible, understandable, and effective for international clients – removing the language, geographical, and bureaucratic barriers that traditionally kept expats from quality mental health care.
Online psychotherapy in Italy is considered effective when delivered by qualified professionals. Multiple meta-analyses (including studies published in JAMA Psychiatry and The Lancet) confirm online therapy is equally effective as in-person therapy for anxiety, depression, PTSD, and most adjustment-related difficulties.
For expats, online therapy offers additional advantages:
Some cases (severe trauma, dissociation, certain personality work) may benefit from in-person sessions, which Therapsy offers across 20+ Italian cities.
Can expats receive therapy in Italy?
Yes. Expats can legally receive private psychotherapy services in Italy.
Is therapy in English available in Italy?
Yes. English-speaking and multilingual therapists are available through specialized services.
Is therapy confidential in Italy?
Yes. Psychotherapy in Italy is protected by strict confidentiality laws.
How much does therapy cost in Italy?
Private therapy generally costs between €70 and €120 per session.
Therapy costs in Italy vary significantly depending on the provider:
At Therapsy pricing, individual therapy starts from €70 per session, with no surcharge for online vs in-person. Couples therapy starts from €100, psychiatric consultations from €110, and psychodiagnostic assessment from €255 (3-session package). The first 15-30 minute assessment call is always free, with no commitment.
Italian tax law classifies psychotherapy as a medical expense, so you can deduct 19% of the cost from your annual tax return. Many international insurance plans (Cigna, Allianz Worldwide Care, IMG Global, GeoBlue) reimburse out-of-network therapy abroad – we issue invoices in English with all the standard details insurers require.
Several services offer English-speaking therapy to expats in Italy. Here is how they compare:
Therapsy is the only major Italy-based service combining all of the following:
For expats who want quality therapy in their native language, with both digital convenience and the option of face-to-face sessions across Italy, Therapsy is the most comprehensive option currently available.
Therapy in Italy for expats is regulated, multilingual, and increasingly online. Therapsy is the only major Italy-based service offering psychotherapy in 12 languages, with both online and in-person sessions across 20+ Italian cities. Key facts:
Expats can access high-quality multilingual mental health care in Italy without speaking Italian, regardless of visa status, in a way that respects their language, culture, and pace of life.
I started Therapsy because I kept meeting people in Italy who had given up on therapy. Not because they didn't need it, because they couldn't find a therapist who'd understand them in their first language, and in their context, not just their words.
Have a free dedicated conversation with our Clinical Director, who will carefully understand your needs, preferences, and language. Based on this, we will thoughtfully match you with the therapist who best fits your goals and personality.
Meet your assigned therapist for a free initial assessment call. This session is designed to get to know you, explore your concerns, and explain how therapy works.
Continue with flexible therapy sessions, online or in person across Italy. If the fit isn’t right, we’ll rematch you. No awkward conversations, no extra cost.
Therapsy is designed exactly for this scenario. Fill our free request form, briefly describe your situation and language preference, and our Clinical Director will match you with a therapist within a few hours. You can have your free 15-30 minute introductory call within 1-3 days. Italian private therapy waiting lists run 2-4 weeks, so we’re significantly faster.
Yes – this is core territory for us. Many of our therapists have lived abroad themselves or specialize specifically in expat mental health. Working in your native language with someone who understands the realities of being away from home (family distance, identity shifts, language fatigue, friendship gaps) is often the difference between feeling truly understood and feeling lost in translation.
Not with Therapsy. The public Italian healthcare system primarily operates in Italian, and most private practices do too. Therapsy is the only major Italy-based service offering therapy in 12 languages, with both online and in-person sessions. You can access high-quality mental health care without speaking Italian, in your own language.
Some plans do. Cigna is the most common case among our international clients (with confirmed reimbursements). Other plans like Allianz Worldwide Care, IMG Global, and GeoBlue may also reimburse out-of-network therapy abroad. Therapsy issues invoices in English with the standard details insurers request. Always check your specific plan’s reimbursement rules before your first paid session.
Italian therapy tends to be more relational and less protocolar than US or UK standards. Sessions last 45-60 minutes (similar to international norms). Italian therapists are required by law to complete a 4-year specialization after their psychology degree, which means the average Italian psychotherapist is heavily trained. Cost is generally lower than equivalent private practice in the US, UK, or Switzerland.
Yes. Therapsy supports international students and short-term residents across all Italian universities and language schools. Sessions can be online (perfect for student schedules and budget) or in person near your campus city. Pricing starts from €70 per session, and many students use insurance reimbursement or family plans to cover costs.
Adult life doesn’t arrive with a manual, and the expat version has even fewer pages translated. Our adult patients come to us with the struggles that don’t make for good Instagram captions: a manager who won’t change, a marriage running on autopilot, a parent’s health starting to slip back home, the person you thought you’d be by now.
Therapy with us is a space to slow down and look at all of it without performing. We use evidence-based approaches (CBT, ACT, EMDR, psychodynamic) chosen for what helps you, not what we prefer.
Some people stay 8 sessions, some stay 2 years. Both are fine. What matters is that you leave each session with something you didn’t walk in with.
A large share of the couples we see are international: one partner moved for the other’s job, or you come from different countries and built your relationship in a third. The dynamics are real. The “trailing spouse” cliché exists because it captures something true: the quieter partner often loses career, identity, and social network at once, while the other is busy with the new role and doesn’t fully see it.
Couples therapy with us is not about finding who’s right. It’s about finding the conversation neither of you is having: the resentment that’s gone underground, the appreciation that’s gone unsaid, the assumption one of you brought from your culture and the other never agreed to.
Sessions can be in your shared language, or in two languages if each of you prefers their own. Most couples leave with fewer fights – not because they avoid them, but because what was underneath has finally been named.
Adolescents often arrive at our door through their parents – sometimes willingly, sometimes resentfully, occasionally as a condition. Either way, the first thing we do is build trust on the teenager’s terms, not the family’s. What gets shared with parents is decided with the teenager, never behind their back. Adolescents who feel monitored shut down; adolescents who feel respected open up.
Many of our young patients are third-culture kids: growing up in a country that isn’t their parents’ country, switching languages between school and dinner, holding identities that don’t fit the categories adults assume. We get this. Our therapists work in the languages your child actually thinks in, not just the one they were tested in at school.
Expat life has phases. The honeymoon (everything is charming), the adjustment (everything is exhausting), the integration (everything is just… life), and for some, the return shock (going “home” and finding it’s not). Each phase comes with its own emotional load, and the load gets heavier when you can’t process it in the language you grew up in.
Therapy in your fourth language doesn’t fail because you can’t speak it well enough. It fails because grief, anger, shame, longing – the things therapy actually works on – live in your first language. Translating them in real time, while a stranger watches, is exhausting and inaccurate.
With a therapist who speaks your first language, you can stop translating yourself and start being yourself.
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The numbers behind the work.
Our patients tell us how they feel, here’s what they say.
If you’re still reading, you’re already further than most.
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