Bliss Therapy

English-speaking therapists in Amsterdam: cost and how to find one

The 28 private English-speaking therapists in Amsterdam we checked charged between €50 and €120 a session, with a middle price of €85. Basic Dutch insurance covers mental health support at your GP practice for free; specialist treatment needs a diagnosed disorder and a referral, and you pay the first €385 of covered care yourself each year[1][2][12]. Bliss Therapy offers online sessions in English from €30.

By the Bliss Therapy editorial team · Facts checked on

What do English-speaking therapists in Amsterdam charge?

We read the fees published by 28 practitioners in Amsterdam who offer sessions in English, on It’s Complicated profiles and practice websites, on 13 October 2026.

28 English-speaking practitioners in Amsterdam
Lowest fee€50
Middle fee€85
Highest fee€120
€80 or less12 of 28
€100 or less23 of 28
For comparison: Bliss Therapy, not counted above
Bliss Therapy (online, 50 min)From €30; middle price €50

Most sessions were 50 to 60 minutes. Two practices also stated that self-paying clients usually start within one to two weeks. The Bliss Therapy row comes from our own directory when this page loads; it is not part of the 28 practitioners.

What does basic health insurance cover?

Specialist mental health care is covered by basic insurance under conditions: you must be 18 or over and have a mental disorder in the DSM-5 classification, and you need a referral, usually from your GP[1][4]. This specialist care does not cover, among other things[1]:

  • problems at work
  • overstrain and burnout
  • relationship problems
  • difficulty adjusting to a new situation, such as divorce, grief or losing your job

The mandatory deductible (eigen risico) is €385 in 2026[2]: you pay the first €385 of covered care yourself each year, and specialist mental health care counts towards it[12].

How do I start through my GP?

  1. See your GP. For lighter problems, the GP or the practice’s mental health support worker (POH-GGZ) is usually the right first step[1].
  2. Talk to the POH-GGZ. This care is covered by basic insurance and does not count towards your deductible[1][3]. The official flyer notes that the POH-GGZ “often only speaks Dutch or English”[3].
  3. Get a referral if needed. For specialist treatment, your GP refers you; a referral is valid for up to nine months at Zilveren Kruis, for example[4].

If you see a provider your insurer has no contract with, you may get less back. Menzis, for example, reimburses 70% of the bill for non-contracted mental health care on most of its policies, up to a limit[5].

How long is the wait?

The agreed maximum is four weeks to an intake and a further ten weeks from intake to treatment[6]. In practice, an analysis of the regulator’s data in February 2026 found people waited 24 weeks on average to start treatment[7]. If you pay yourself, the wait can be shorter, as the two practices above say; another option is online with a therapist on Bliss Therapy, where 26 offer a free first session.

Psychologist or GZ-psycholoog: which title matters?

Only people on the BIG register may use protected titles such as gezondheidszorgpsycholoog (GZ-psycholoog) and psychotherapeut[8]. “Psycholoog” on its own is not a protected title[9]. Basic insurance reimburses treatment by the professions listed by the Zorginstituut, which include the GZ-psycholoog and the psychotherapist[1]. You can check anyone at bigregister.nl.

Is online therapy in English an option?

Yes. Some insured Dutch providers work online, and if you pay privately, there are more options. On Bliss Therapy, a 50-minute online session with an English-speaking therapist costs from €30, and the middle price is €50, as of 28 October 2026; 26 of 57 offer a free first session. Bliss Therapy sessions are private and are not reimbursed by Dutch basic insurance.

See English-speaking therapists

Questions people ask

Is there a crisis line in English in the Netherlands?

113 Zelfmoordpreventie offers help in Dutch, but says most of its counsellors can help in English as well[10]. In a life-threatening emergency, call 112[11].

Does insurance cover therapy for burnout?

Specialist treatment for overstrain and burnout is not covered by basic insurance[1]. Your GP and the practice’s mental health support worker can still help with stress-related complaints under basic insurance, without counting towards your deductible[1][3]. For regular therapy sessions about burnout, paying privately is the other route; on Bliss Therapy, online sessions in English start from €30.

Related pages

How we checked

Amsterdam fees are those published by 28 English-speaking practitioners on It’s Complicated and on practice websites on 13 October 2026; we took the first results shown, so this is a snapshot, not a random sample. Rules on insurance, titles and waiting times are from the Dutch government, the Zorginstituut, the regulator, insurers and professional bodies, opened on 14 October 2026. Bliss Therapy figures are read from therapist profiles when this page loads.

Sources

  1. Zorginstituut Nederland, “Geneeskundige ggz (Zvw)” (opened 14 October 2026)
  2. Rijksoverheid, “Eigen risico zorgverzekering” (opened 14 October 2026)
  3. LHV, Trimbos and MIND, flyer on the POH-GGZ (March 2025)
  4. Zilveren Kruis, specialist mental health care from age 18 (reimbursement 2026)
  5. Menzis, mental health care under the Health Insurance Act (opened 14 October 2026)
  6. NZa, “Toegang tot geestelijke gezondheidszorg verder onder druk” (22 July 2025)
  7. Radar, waiting times in mental health care (16 February 2026)
  8. BIG-register, about the register (last updated 18 June 2025)
  9. NIP, “Norm voor vakbekwaamheid” (July 2022)
  10. 113 Zelfmoordpreventie, helpline (opened 14 October 2026)
  11. Thuisarts, “In case of emergency” (last changed 9 October 2025)
  12. DSW, psychological care (curative mental health care) (opened 14 October 2026)