Ukrainian Psychologist Abroad: Therapy in Your Native Language
Solvio editorial team5 minutes
Contents
After moving, many people find themselves in a situation where seeing a psychologist is an option, but they don’t feel like going. The local professional speaks another language, insurance means waiting, and there’s no energy to explain at the first meeting what an air raid alert is or why your partner stayed in Ukraine.
This article looks at when it’s worth finding a Ukrainian-speaking psychologist online and when it’s better to see a local one—and what you can do to make online therapy from another country really work.
Why the language of therapy matters
Even if you speak English, German, or Czech well, it’s usually easier to talk about difficult things in your own language. Another language may be enough at work or in a shop. But when it comes to naming shame, anger, or what happened in childhood, people often get stuck translating. Instead of feeling, they search for words.
The second reason is context. You don’t have to explain to a Ukrainian psychologist what a night in the hallway is, why you check the news first thing in the morning, or why a simple “How are things?” from your mother can throw you off for the whole day. A local professional may be wonderful, but you’ll spend the first few sessions bringing them up to speed.
And third: the feeling of being understood without explanations is helpful in itself. For someone who spends all day in an unfamiliar environment, an hour talking in their own language is often the only time during the week when they can relax.
What about seeing a local psychologist through insurance?
In many EU countries, psychotherapy is covered by public health insurance, and this is genuinely a good option. But it has two limitations.
First, waiting lists. Germany is the most striking example: psychotherapy is free for patients with insurance, but it often takes more than three months to get an initial appointment, and in Berlin the wait can be as long as six months. When you’re struggling right now, that kind of wait often isn’t an option.
Second, language. There are few Ukrainian-speaking professionals who work with local insurance, and they usually have the longest waiting lists.
A combination often works: get on the waiting list for a local professional and, at the same time, start online therapy in Ukrainian. When your turn comes, you can decide whether to switch. And if you need medication, you’ll still have to see a local doctor: a Ukrainian psychologist can’t prescribe medication in your country.
What Ukrainians abroad come to a psychologist for
The concerns people bring up here often differ from those they bring up in Ukraine. The most common are:
guilt about having left, and the feeling that you don’t have the right to live peacefully while loved ones back home are under shelling;
long-distance relationships, when your partner is in Ukraine or at the front, and years of living apart;
the decision to return or stay, postponed for years and weighing on you in the background;
adjusting: a new language, a job below your qualifications, loneliness, and feeling like a stranger here;
children in a new country: a new school, an unfamiliar language, missing their friends and dad;
the war you’re watching from afar: the news, worry about loved ones, and the sense that people around you don’t really understand why it affects you so deeply.
Everyday life concerns—relationships, work, self-esteem—are layered on top of all this. A local professional can help with them just as well, but the whole list above shows why it’s often easier to talk to someone who has experienced it from the inside.
How to arrange online therapy from abroad
A few practical things to consider before your first session.
Time zone. Most EU countries are one hour behind Kyiv, so there’s usually no problem with Europe. The difference is seven hours or more with the US or Canada. In that case, look for a psychologist who works early in the morning or late in the evening, or someone who lives closer to your time zone.
Location. In shared accommodation, a dorm, or an apartment with relatives, it can be hard to find an hour of quiet. Headphones, a car, or an empty meeting room at work can help. The main thing is that no one can hear you.
Payment. Check whether you can pay with a foreign bank card and what currency the session is charged in. It’s better to find this out before booking, not after.
Consistency. Moving disrupts your schedule, and it’s easy to start rescheduling sessions. Agree on a fixed day and time with your psychologist. That way, you’ll have an anchor in your week and won’t need to arrange it all over again each time.