Navigating Mental Healthcare in the Netherlands

Tatiana S
Jun 17
5 min read

Finding one’s way through a new country’s healthcare system is not easy, especially when it comes to mental health. It can be confusing, scary and might even feel dismissive. So here is simple guide to navigating mental healthcare in the Netherlands.

a. First point of contact

b. Preparing for the doctor’s visit

c. Getting therapy

d. Getting diagnosed

e. Taking a sick leave/accommodation at work

f. Hospitalization & emergency

g. Other supporting contacts

Downloadable version of this document:

a. First point of contact

As usual, your first of contact is your huisarts (GP). They are the gatekeepers to all medical care, including mental health. Be very direct and clear about how the issue affects your life, whether it is mental or physical symptoms, relationships or work productivity. The system is often overloaded, so make the effects on your life and urgency clear.

GP can prescribe initial medications and refer you to psychologist, psychiatrist or a POH-GGZ – mental health support professional working with the huisarts practice. You can ask directly for a referral to a psychologist or psychiatrist, if you feel that support you are getting from GP is not enough.

In case you don’t have a GP yet, call practices closest to you to enroll. Make it clear that you live in the neighborhood and need help. If they are not responsive – call your insurer, they might point you towards GP practices that are accepting enrollments.

By the way, the help you get from GP and POH-GGZ is covered by your insurance and is not counted towards your “own risk” (eigen risico).

b. Preparing for a doctor’s visit

Doctors receive a lot of requests and will interpret yours based on their experience, that might be predominately local. And if you are from a culture that tends to minimize personal experiences and pain, you need to make sure they get the full picture. Also, take into account, that you are in the country that is very direct and appreciates complaints. They expect this from you.

It might be useful to:

· Write down your symptoms, when they started, progressed, and how they affect your life: mentally (focus, mood, thoughts, contact with environment), physically (sleep, eating habits, energy, pulse, breath), in relationships.

· Take a mental health test available online. E.g., here are the tests from Mental Health America. Note, that their tests are not supposed to diagnose you – much more goes into diagnosis than a short test – but might help to find the language or assign words to what you are experiencing.

· Talk to your preferred LLM (e.g., Chat GPT) about your experiences and discuss what is reasonable to mention to a doctor. This will help you to formulate and also pick up on things that might feel irrelevant or too small, but are, in fact, important for the discussion.

· Bring any relevant medical or mental health history.

· Clearly ask what you’re hoping for (e.g., therapy, diagnosis, medication)

· Practice what you would like to say with a friend, family member or yourself.

Remember, you always have a right to a second opinion. If you feel, that the situation is not addressed seriously enough, raise that. You can also bring someone else with you to advocate, if you afraid of not being able to communicate your needs properly at the moment.

c. Getting therapy

Therapy, or therapy in combination with medication is a go-to way to address mental health problems. The problem is, waiting list for therapy can be long, depending on the professional’s availability, place and type of the issue. Timelines really vary; this is something to ask your GP to get an answer for the specific case.

GP typically gives a referral to a specific mental health practice they worked with before. But you can go a different route and call practices around you asking for availability and then, ask GP to refer you to the specific one. This treatment is covered by health insurance, eigen risico applies.

By the way, often they will try to find a therapist who speaks your language.

You can also check ttps://www.zorgkaartnederland.nl

You can, however, get a therapist or counselor or even a coach outside of the system and pay out of pocket. Good thing – you get more choice and probably more urgency. Downside – you need to pay.

To keep in mind – counselor and coach are not protected titles in the Netherlands, what means

a) there is no standard, and you need to check for their education/certification yourself to see if this is enough for you

b) they are not allowed to work with complex mental health issues. You can use them as overall mental health support, e.g., for stress, burnout, mild anxiety – as long as this does not cross clinical red lines. Example of red lines – suspected disorders, self-harm, unstable states, trauma.

Also, consider getting remote therapy. It is often cheaper and allows to find a therapist speaking your language and having common cultural background.

d. Getting diagnosed

There might be a diagnosis in your card, at least for insurance purposes. It will not necessarily be communicated to you, as in many cases the approach to the treatment will depend on your specific needs and symptoms, rather than on an assigned diagnosis. Any mental health situation is highly individual, and does not necessarily require a label.

If this is something important to you – directly ask the professional you are working with.

e. Taking sick leave at work

If your mental health is affecting your ability to work, you can call in sick with your employer. You don't need to explain personal medical details - just say you're unwell. Then the procedure will depend a bit on the company, but below are the essential steps

In case longer-term sickness (>2 weeks) or need for adjustments, the employer will refer you to the bedrijfsarts (company doctor), who will assess your situation. Their role is to support your recovery.

You can ask the bedrijfsarts for:- Recommendations for adjusted work (lighter duties, flexible hours).- Time off for recovery.- Referral to occupational therapy or reintegration support.

Important: The bedrijfsarts must respect confidentiality. Your colleagues/supervisor cannot learn your diagnosis without your permission. They also do not have access to your other medical records, so remember to mention important items, even if you have shared them with GP/other professionals before.

You do not have to explain anything at work; you only need to share that you are sick. They also cannot pressure you into returning to work before you feel ready.

f. Hospitalization & Emergency

If your symptoms are severe (e.g., risk to yourself or others), hospitalization may be needed. This usually goes through the GP, but in urgent cases, you can also call 112 or go to the local Spoedeisende Psychiatrie (Emergency Psychiatry Services).

You may have a concern that you might get “blacklisted” or your employer will be informed. This is not the case in NL. No information about place/reasons hospitalization is not going to be shared with employer: just that you are sick. This even applies to your partner and family – any information will be shared only if you allow it.

In rarer cases of involuntary admission police or local authorities might be involved, but again, they do not share information with others.

In case of emergency:

- Call 112 if you or someone else is in immediate danger.- Call the huisartsenpost outside office hours.- Contact your local crisisdienst (crisis mental health team). For Amsterdam it is 020 788 5333. - You can also call the Listening Line - (088 0767 000) or suicide prevention line at 113 Zelfmoordpreventie (available 24/7): 0800 0113 or chat at www.113.nl.

You can find more here: https://findahelpline.com/countries/nl/topics/suicidal-thoughts

g. Other supporting contacts

There are a lot of organizations that provide focused support, e.g., in for specific situations – e.g., bipolar disorder, or to selected groups – e.g. LGBTQ. Research them for your specific case, but here are some general ones