Therapy in English in France: Insurance, Cost, Referrals, Waiting Lists

By Aaron Platt, MA · Published August 2026

France has more ways to get therapy paid for than most people expect, and more small print than most people want. If you are an expat, the first surprise is that the word psy covers three different professions. The second is that the free route is real, but short and narrow. This post sets out the routes as they stand in 2026, with the numbers.

I will cover the four main paths. Mon soutien psy, the state program for psychologists. The psychiatre, who is a doctor. The CMP, the public mental health center. And private practice, which is where most English-speaking therapy in France happens. Then where I fit, and where I do not.

Mental health is the Grande Cause Nationale for 2026, so the rules have been moving in your favor. They are still rules, though, and they decide what you pay.

Three kinds of psy, and why it matters

A psychiatre is a medical doctor. Consultations are reimbursed by the Assurance Maladie like any specialist visit, and only a psychiatre can prescribe medication. A psychologue holds a protected university title but is not a doctor. Outside the state program, a psychologue sets their own price and the Sécurité sociale pays nothing. Psychothérapeute is a regulated title too, but it is not tied to any reimbursement at all. Which door you walk through decides the bill, so it is worth knowing which one you are standing at.

Mon soutien psy: twelve sessions at no cost

Mon soutien psy is the program that changed the picture. You no longer need a referral. That change took effect on June 15, 2024, along with the rise from eight sessions to twelve. A decree in May 2025 wrote both into the regulations. You book directly with a partner psychologue from the official directory. Each session costs a fixed 50 euros. The Assurance Maladie pays 60 percent and a standard mutuelle pays the rest, so most people pay nothing. You get twelve sessions per calendar year: one assessment and up to eleven follow-ups. It is open from age three. From October 2026 the state's share is paid direct to the psychologue, so you stop paying that part up front.

The limits are the point. Sessions are short, half an hour to forty-five minutes after the first. The program is for mild to moderate distress, not for severe or urgent problems. Twelve sessions is twelve. And under half of the psychologues who can join have done so. So a partner who works in English near you may not exist. Paris has more of them. Outside the big cities there are few.

The psychiatre and the CMP

You can see a psychiatre directly. Unless you are under 26, though, the Assurance Maladie reimburses more of the set tariff if your médecin traitant refers you first. In secteur 1 there are no extra fees. In secteur 2 the doctor can charge more, and your mutuelle decides how much of that comes back. Psychiatres are the route for medication and for a formal diagnosis. They are less often the route for weekly talk therapy, and English-speaking ones are scarce.

The CMP, the centre médico-psychologique, is the public option. It is free. It also carries the longest waits in the system, often months for adults, and the treatment is set by the center rather than by you. For a serious condition with no money to spare, it is the right door. For a language match or a quick start, it rarely is.

Private practice: what a psychologue charges

Around nine in ten psychologues work privately, outside the program, and set their own fees. The range is wide. Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Marseille often run double the rural rate, so 70 to 120 euros in the capital is normal. Specialist methods add ten to thirty percent. The Sécurité sociale reimburses none of it. Some mutuelles pay a small yearly forfait toward psychologue sessions, usually worth a few sessions, so check your contract before you assume.

What you buy with that fee is choice. Your therapist, your language, your pace, no session cap, and nothing in your Assurance Maladie record.

When you should use the public routes

Use them when money is the constraint and your problem fits the program. Twelve free sessions with a partner psychologue is a real offer for a defined problem. Use a psychiatre if you may need medication, or a diagnosis for work, insurance or a court. Use the CMP or the emergency services if you are in crisis. None of that is second best. It is the system doing what it is built for.

Sources

• ameli: Mon soutien psy (12 sessions, 50 euros, 60 percent, direct access since June 15, 2024), checked September 2026.
• Légifrance: décret n° 2025-424 of May 13, 2025, checked September 2026.
• info.gouv.fr (the government's news service): tiers payant for Mon soutien psy from October 1, 2026, checked October 2026.
• ameli (February 2026): 7,280 of the 16,000 eligible psychologues had joined Mon soutien psy, checked October 2026.

How the same questions play out in 33 other countries is in the country-by-country reference.

How I fit, and where I do not

I am a US-trained therapist working online in English with people across France and beyond. I am a private option. I am not a psychiatre, I do not prescribe, and I am not a Mon soutien psy partner, so nothing I do is reimbursed. What I offer is a start within days, sessions in English, and open-ended depth work with no twelve-session limit. The fee is discussed on the free call. The practical terms are on the fees page. If the reimbursement matters to you, a partner psychologue who works in English is the better answer, and I will say so on the call.

There is more on the France page and the Paris page, and on how online therapy compares to meeting in person.

Common questions about therapy in France