An English-speaking counsellor for women living in France

If you are looking for an English-speaking counsellor in France, I offer person-centred counselling by secure video for women living anywhere in the country. I am a trainee counsellor based in the UK, a BACP student member, working under regular clinical supervision. Sessions cost £45, charged in pounds. This is counselling from the UK. It is not French healthcare, and I am not a psychologue or psychothérapeute.

Finding an English-speaking therapist in France

In 2025, 8.0 million immigrants lived in France, 11.6% of the population, according to INSEE's provisional estimates. Of the whole population, 6.3 million people, or 9.1%, were foreign nationals.

If you live in Paris, my Paris page looks at the city in more detail. This page is about how things work across the country, for anyone in Lyon, Toulouse, Bordeaux, a village in the Dordogne or a town near the Swiss border.

France can be a place you love and still find tiring. You might speak good French and still feel that the real conversation is happening a half-second ahead of you. Or you might have moved for retirement, or for love, and found that the quiet you wanted has turned into something lonelier. If that sounds familiar, the page on expat loneliness may help put words to it.

Is therapy reimbursed in France? Mon soutien psy explained

Your médecin traitant, the GP you have registered with, can be a first point of contact. For psychological support there is also a national scheme called Mon soutien psy, which you can use with or without your doctor's involvement.

According to the Assurance Maladie, Mon soutien psy reimburses up to 12 sessions per calendar year with a partner psychologist: one assessment session and up to 11 follow-up sessions. It is open to anyone aged three and over with mild to moderate psychological distress. You can now book directly with a partner psychologist, though a GP, paediatrician or midwife can still refer you.

There are conditions. Only psychologists selected by the Assurance Maladie and signed up to the scheme take part. People with suicidal risk, severe conditions or current psychiatric care are directed elsewhere. Sessions can sometimes take place by video, if the psychologist agrees.

Because the scheme is designed for mild to moderate difficulties, your doctor remains the place to start for anything more serious. Almost all of this happens in French. The Assurance Maladie page doesn't say anything about languages, so finding a partner psychologist who works in English may mean asking practices one by one. My guide on how to find a therapist abroad has a short list of questions to ask when you do.

If you have just arrived, you may not have a médecin traitant yet, or a carte Vitale. That alone can make the first step feel bigger than it should.

Protected titles: why I call myself a counsellor

In France, psychologue is a protected title that requires a master's degree in psychology. Psychothérapeute has also been a protected title since the 2004 public health law, with rules in force since 2010. Practitioners need approved training in clinical psychopathology, with exemptions for some professions, and must be entered on a national register.

I hold neither title, and I don't use them. I am a trainee person-centred counsellor, studying for an MSc in Counselling and Psychotherapy at Keele University, and a student member of the BACP. I see clients online from the UK under regular clinical supervision. My fee is lower than a qualified practitioner's because I am still in training.

So the Assurance Maladie won't reimburse my sessions. If you have a mutuelle or international health cover, ask your insurer directly rather than assuming either way. For the wider question, see can a UK counsellor see clients abroad?

Online therapy in English in France: how it works

If you were searching for an English therapist in France, or for therapy for expats in France in your first language, this is what working with me involves.

We meet by secure video for 50 minutes. You need a private room and a stable connection. Mainland France is one hour ahead of the UK all year, so a 6pm session in the UK is 7pm for you.

The fee is £45 per session, charged in pounds, and your bank may add a conversion fee. I keep a few low-cost places for students, trainees and people on low income. I ask for 48 hours' notice to cancel. Read the fees page or book a first session.

What person-centred counselling with me is like

My approach is person-centred. I don't diagnose, and I don't hand out advice or homework. I'll listen carefully, try to understand what things are like for you, and trust that you can find your own way.

You might want to talk about people-pleasing, about holding a family together from a distance, or about who you are becoming in a second language. It's okay not to know where to begin. The expat wellbeing check-in might be a gentle place to start, or the free personal wellbeing check, which asks four simple questions about how life feels. My checked list of free mental health resources for expats and migrants is there too.

When online counselling isn't the right support

I don't provide crisis care, and I don't work with active suicidal intent, psychosis, eating disorders, addiction treatment, specialist trauma treatment, couples or children. If any of these apply, please contact your médecin traitant or the numbers below.

Your doctor can refer you to a psychiatrist, and Mon soutien psy may suit milder difficulties. If you live in the capital, my page of verified mental health and women's support services in Paris lists local emergency, psychiatric and women's support services, including what is available in English.

Crisis support in France

If you are in danger now, call 15 (SAMU) or 112.

• 3114. The national suicide prevention line. Free, 24 hours a day, every day, answered by health professionals trained in suicide prevention. In French.
• SOS Help, 01 46 21 46 46. An English-language emotional support line. Trained volunteers answer every day from 3pm to 11pm. Calls are anonymous and charged at a standard local rate.
• 3919. Listening, information and guidance for women affected by violence. It is not an emergency line. My page on domestic abuse and women's safety has more free safety information.

These numbers were checked on the official websites listed below on 19 October 2026. The full list is on my page of mental health helplines in France.