An English-speaking counsellor for women living in Germany

I offer person-centred counselling in English, by secure video, for women living anywhere in Germany. I am a trainee counsellor based in the UK, a BACP student member, and I work under regular clinical supervision. Sessions cost £45, charged in pounds. This is counselling delivered from the UK. It is not part of German healthcare, and I am not a Psychotherapeutin under German law.

English-speaking counselling anywhere in Germany

At the end of 2025, about 14.07 million foreign nationals living in Germany were recorded in the Central Register of Foreign Nationals, according to Destatis. That is a register count rather than a headcount, but it shows how many people here started life somewhere else.

If you live in Berlin, Munich or Frankfurt, my pages for Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt cover the local picture. This page is about the national system, and it is for anyone in Hamburg or Cologne, or in a small town where you are the only English speaker on your street.

Germany can be easy to live in and hard to feel at home in. You can have a good job and a residence permit, and still spend evenings rehearsing a phone call to a doctor's practice in your head. The free mental health resources for expats and migrants include some written with exactly that in mind.

How psychotherapy works in Germany if your German is limited

Under statutory health insurance, you don't need a referral for psychotherapy. You start with a psychotherapeutic consultation, called a Sprechstunde, which you can book yourself. It is there to work out whether therapy is needed and what kind would fit.

If treatment is recommended but the practice has no place, you receive a form with a referral code. With that code, the 116117 appointment service has to offer you an appointment within a week, and that appointment may be up to four weeks away. For acute treatment the limit is two weeks.

That covers the first steps. Finding a long-term therapy place is a different matter, and the figures are disputed. The Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists (BPtK) reported an average of 142.4 days between the first consultation and the start of treatment, using billing data for people seen in early 2019. A June 2026 analysis by the association of substitute health funds (vdek) found that 80% of adults reached a trial session within four weeks of their consultation, but that 61% of adults needing acute treatment waited more than two weeks.

Both sources agree on one thing. Getting help quickly is harder when you need it most urgently. And almost every step, from the phone call to the forms, assumes you are comfortable in German. My guide on how to find a therapist abroad suggests questions to ask practices, whichever route you choose.

Is a counsellor the same as a Psychotherapeutin in Germany?

German law protects the title. The Psychotherapists Act says that anyone practising psychotherapy under the title Psychotherapeutin or Psychotherapeut needs a German licence to practise, called an Approbation.

I don't have one, and I don't use that title. How a UK counsellor can work with clients in Germany at all is explained in can a UK counsellor see clients abroad? 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.

This also means statutory insurance won't cover my sessions. If you have private or international health insurance, check with your insurer directly rather than assuming.

Online therapy in English in Germany: how sessions work

If you have been searching for an English therapist in Germany, or for therapy for expats in Germany that doesn't depend on a waiting list, here is how working with me looks in practice.

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

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. You can read the fees page or book a first session.

What women in Germany bring to counselling

You don't need a diagnosis or a crisis to come. Some women want to talk about the partner's job that brought them here, or the career they paused (I write about this on the trailing spouse page). Some feel pulled between a family abroad and a life that is slowly taking root in Germany. Some simply notice they have stopped laughing much. If you are not sure what you are feeling, the free loneliness test is a private place to start.

My approach is person-centred. I won't tell you what to do or what is wrong with you. I'll listen carefully, try to understand your world as you experience it, and trust you to find your own way forward. There is more on expat loneliness and on online therapy for expats if you want to read first.

When online counselling from the UK isn't the right support

Online counselling from the UK is not suited to everything. 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, German care is the better starting point. Your Hausarzt can examine you and talk through next steps. The 116117 service can book a first psychotherapy consultation, and if acute treatment is recommended, the time limit for an appointment is two weeks. If you are affected by violence at home, the Hilfetelefon on 116 016 and the free safety information for women are good places to begin. We can talk later about whether counselling might help alongside.

Crisis support in Germany

If you are in danger now, call 112.

• TelefonSeelsorge, 0800 111 0 111, 0800 111 0 222 or 116 123. Free, day and night. In German.
• Hilfetelefon Gewalt gegen Frauen, 116 016. For women affected by violence, and for people supporting them. Free, 24 hours, with counselling in English among 18 languages.

These numbers were checked on the official websites listed below on 19 October 2026. The Germany helplines page has more services, and there are local lists of help centres in Berlin and help centres in Munich.