Mental healthcare in Czech Rep (English speakers)

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on 10 Nov 2017

My husband and I are thinking about moving to (and retiring in) Czech Republic. My husband is a Czech citizen (native Czech speaker), though he has been living in the USA for about 30+ years. I am from the USA and only speak English and a little French/Chinese, and maybe 50 words in Czech, with very few full phrases. My question is about mental healthcare in Czech Republic. Has any expat in Czech Republic had luck finding a somewhat decent psychiatrist and/or therapist who speaks sufficient English? If so, where and what is the doctor's/therapist's name, if you are willing to share. I'm not 100% sure where we plan to live in Czech Republic, but I think we should live near a somewhat large city, preferably Prague. My husband seems to be leaning towards a small town or rural area, though he is originally a Praguer. If you have any recommendations for such psychiatrists/therapists, please indicate the city in which they practice. I haven't talked about health insurance much with my husband yet, but from what I have read he will qualify for the national insurance. As his wife, I'm not sure what I'll need to do. I'm assuming we'll need to buy private insurance for me. If any expat in Czech Republic pays for healthcare using a private insurance, what are some of the usual costs per visit?

EmmaL on 13 Nov 2017 - 07:48

Hi Libecek

Have a read of our guide to healthcare in the Czech Republic for a start. It's compulsory to have health insurance as a resident of the Czech Republic, and as an expat, your worst case scenario will probably be having to pay for this yourself.

Will you be working there before retiring? Expats who are employed by Czech employers automatically have access to free healthcare because they'll contribute to the national healthcare scheme.

There are many sites where you can compare the cost of living with your own city. Numbeo has a tool specifically for healthcare.

Hope this helps,
Emma

Anonymous (not verified) on 13 Nov 2017 - 16:25

Thank you, Emma. I'll visit the link you provided. Though my plans may change, I'm thinking about working as a ESL teacher (like many expats do), but first plan to get a TEFL Certification and practice before I leave the U.S. I'm assuming that would be helpful. I also have experience teaching ESL to children in Taiwan and Conversational English to adults in Poland. I may also do some online freelance writing. I do hope I will be able to find a psychiatrist and therapist who speak English nearby to where we eventually reside.

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