There are two ways to get psychological treatment in the Netherlands, and they are not competing versions of the same thing. They suit different situations, and the honest answer to "which is better" is that it depends on what you are dealing with and how long you can wait.
This guide lays out the trade-off so you can decide, including the cases where we are not the right answer.
What the GGZ Is
GGZ stands for geestelijke gezondheidszorg — mental healthcare. In practice the word refers to the insured system: the network of institutions and practices funded through the basisverzekering.
It is split in two:
- Generalistische basis GGZ (GB-GGZ) — lighter to moderate complaints, shorter treatments.
- Gespecialiseerde GGZ (S-GGZ) — severe, complex or long-standing conditions, including psychiatric care and medication.
You enter through a referral from your huisarts, which also determines which of the two you are sent to.
The Waiting Lists Are the Real Problem
Dutch healthcare agreed voluntary maximum waiting times, the Treeknormen:
- 4 weeks from registering to intake
- 10 weeks from intake to treatment starting
- 14 weeks in total
The norms are the agreement. Reality is less comfortable. A national dashboard published in mid-2026, based on insurer claims data, found that a little over half of people begin treatment within fourteen weeks of referral, and around 80% within six months. Figures vary a great deal by region and by condition, and the heaviest delays sit at the start, before intake.
So: for some people the GGZ works roughly as designed. For a substantial minority, referral to treatment is a half-year process. You will not know which you are until you are in it, which is itself part of the difficulty.
Most GGZ institutions publish their current waiting times on their own websites. Check the specific ones in your region rather than relying on national averages, and ask your insurer about wachtlijstbemiddeling — waiting list mediation, which they are obliged to offer and which many people never use.
What the GGZ Costs
Treatment is paid from the basisverzekering, so you pay the eigen risico — €385 for 2026, if you have not already used it on other care that year — and then nothing further for covered treatment. For a long course of therapy, this is by a wide margin the cheapest route.
The conditions are the ones described in our costs and insurance guide: a referral, a BIG-registered provider, a DSM-5 classification, and usually a contracted institution.
What Private Practice Is
A private practice works outside that funding system. You pay per session and claim back whatever your aanvullende (supplementary) package allows.
What changes:
- No referral needed. You can book directly.
- No waiting list of the GGZ kind — typically days or a couple of weeks.
- You choose your therapist, including their language and their method.
- No diagnosis required to be treated. You do not need to meet a DSM-5 threshold to get help.
- You pay more. Partial reimbursement, not full cover.
Side by Side
| GGZ | Private practice | |
|---|---|---|
| Referral | Required | Not required |
| Typical wait | Weeks to several months | Days to weeks |
| Cost to you | Eigen risico, then covered | Per session, partly reimbursed |
| Choice of therapist | Limited | Yours |
| Language | Dutch, English if you are lucky | Whatever you choose |
| Diagnosis | Required for funding | Not required |
| Severe and complex care | Yes, including psychiatry | No |
Which Route Suits Which Situation
The GGZ is the better route if you have a severe or complex condition, you may need psychiatric assessment or medication, you need a formal diagnosis, your treatment is likely to be long, or cost is the deciding factor. For psychosis, bipolar disorder, severe eating disorders, serious addiction or suicidal crisis, the GGZ is not merely cheaper — it is the appropriate level of care, and a private practice is not a substitute for it.
A private practice is the better route if what you are dealing with falls outside basic-package cover anyway — burnout, work stress, adjustment difficulties, relationship problems — or if you want to start now rather than in four months, or if you want therapy in a language you actually think in.
That last point is not a small one. Doing therapy in your third language, waiting for the Dutch word for a feeling you can only name in Polish, is slower and shallower work. For many expats it is the deciding factor rather than a convenience.
Using Both
These are not mutually exclusive, and combining them is common and sensible:
- Start privately while you wait for a GGZ place.
- Use the POH-GGZ at your huisarts, which is free and quick, alongside private sessions.
- Finish in private practice after GGZ treatment ends, if you want continuity.
If you are on a GGZ waiting list and struggling now, starting somewhere is usually better than waiting with nothing.
Where We Fit
We are a private practice. We work in English and Polish, online and in person in Amersfoort, in the Utrecht province, using CBT, ACT and EMDR. You can book a free fifteen-minute call without a referral from anyone.
We are a reasonable fit for anxiety, depression, trauma, burnout and the specific strain of building a life in a country that is not the one you grew up in.
We are not the right place for acute psychiatric crisis, for conditions needing medication management, or for anyone who needs the intensity of care the specialist GGZ provides. If that is your situation, we will say so and point you towards the right route rather than taking you on.
If You Need Help Now
Do not wait for either system if you are in crisis.
- 113 Zelfmoordpreventie — call 113 or 0800-0113, free, 24/7 and anonymous, or chat at 113.nl
- Your huisartsenpost — the out-of-hours GP service in your area
- 112 — if there is immediate danger to life
This guide describes the Dutch system in general terms and reflects the position as it stands in 2026. Waiting times and insurance conditions change; check current figures with the providers and insurer that apply to you.