Finding therapy in English when you live in Barcelona

If you have moved to Barcelona and have been thinking about therapy, you may have run into the same obstacle as a lot of people: the problem is not finding a psychologist, it is finding one you can actually talk to.

Therapy is an odd kind of conversation. You are trying to put into words things you have never said out loud, sometimes things you have been avoiding for years. Doing that in your second or third language, while also managing the rest of a life in a new country, is a real barrier — and a common reason people put it off far longer than they meant to.

This is a practical guide: how to find someone who works in your language here, what is worth checking before you book, and an honest look at the option of keeping the therapist you already had at home.

Your own language is not a luxury

It is tempting to think of language as a detail you can work around, especially if your Spanish is decent. In day-to-day life it usually is. In therapy it often is not.

The reason is that a lot of the work happens in precision. The difference between feeling uneasy and feeling afraid, between being annoyed and being hurt, between guilt and shame — those distinctions are where the useful part of a session lives, and they are the first thing to disappear when you are translating in your head. People tend to round their feelings down to whatever word they can reach.

There is also the matter of what you grew up with. Family scenes, childhood memories, the things people said to you when you were small: those arrived in a particular language, and they are usually easier to reach in it.

None of this means therapy in a second language cannot work. Plenty of people do it and get a lot out of it. It means that if you have the option, it is worth taking, and that choosing it is not being fussy.

What to check before you book

In Spain, practising as a psychologist requires being registered with an official college of psychology — the colegio. It is not a voluntary badge: it is the legal requirement to practise, and every registered professional has a number.

That number is information you are entitled to ask for, and asking is normal here, not rude. Mine is Licensed Psychologist (COPC No. 13,984), with the Col·legi Oficial de Psicologia de Catalunya (COPC). If you are comparing several people, ask each of them — here or anywhere else.

It matters more than usual when you are new to a country, because the words are unfamiliar. "Therapist", "counsellor" and "coach" mean different things in different places and are not all regulated the same way. The registration number is the thing that does not vary.

How insurance usually works, and why it surprises people

This one catches a lot of people out, so it is worth checking early rather than assuming.

If you are covered by the Spanish public health system, psychological care exists, but access generally goes through your GP and waiting times vary considerably by area. It is worth asking about; it is not usually a fast route.

If you have private Spanish health insurance, many policies include some psychology sessions, often with a cap on the number and only with professionals in that insurer's network. Worth reading the small print before assuming either way.

And if you are still on a policy from your home country, do not assume it travels. Some international policies cover treatment abroad and some do not, and those that do often require the provider to be registered in the country where you are. Ask your insurer directly, in writing if you can.

Where none of that applies, therapy here is paid privately, session by session. You can see what that looks like in my practice on the fees page.

Should you keep the therapist you had at home?

If you were already in therapy before moving, this is a real question and it deserves a straight answer rather than a sales pitch. There are arguments on both sides.

In favour of continuing: you already have a working relationship, which is the single thing that most predicts whether therapy helps. You do not have to explain your history again from scratch. And your therapist knew you before the move, which means they can see what the move changed.

In favour of starting here: a therapist who lives in the same place as you understands the texture of what you are describing — the bureaucracy, the way friendships work here, what it is like in August. There is also the practical matter of being able to sit in the same room, which some people need. And there can be legal and professional considerations when a therapist works across borders: each country regulates practice at a distance on its own terms, so it is worth your therapist checking rather than either of you assuming.

There is no general right answer. What there is, is a question worth asking out loud instead of drifting.

The move itself can be the reason you came

Something that often goes unsaid: moving country is a loss, even when it was your idea and even when it went well.

You left a place where you knew how things worked, where your jokes landed, where you had people who had known you for twenty years. You may have swapped a career you had built for one you are rebuilding. You may be the competent, articulate version of yourself in one language and a slightly flattened version in another. People around you expect you to be pleased, because you chose this, and so you often do not say any of it.

That has a name in Spanish — duelo migratorio, migratory grief — and it is a legitimate reason to come to therapy in its own right. Not as a complaint about a country, and not because anything went wrong. It is the ordinary cost of a large change, and it responds to being talked about.

It also tends to show up sideways: as irritability, as trouble sleeping, as losing interest in things, as a relationship under more strain than it used to be. If you are reading that list and recognising yourself, that is worth a conversation. You can read more about how I work with grief and with anxiety.

In person or online

Both are available, and neither replaces the other. If you live in Barcelona, in-person sessions at the practice in Sant Gervasi are an option, and so are video calls from wherever you are in the country — which helps if you travel for work or move around.

If you are weighing one against the other, I go into it in more detail in does online therapy work.

If you are not sure whether any of this applies to you, the simplest thing is to ask before committing to anything. You can write to me and we can talk it through, in English, with no obligation.

And if you are in crisis and feel your safety is at risk, do not wait for an appointment. In Spain, call 112, or 024, the free suicide-prevention line, available 24 hours a day in Spanish and Catalan.