Dutch health insurance pays for psychological care out of two completely different pots, with different rules, different providers and different paperwork. Most of the confusion expats run into comes from not knowing which of the two they are dealing with.
This guide explains both, what each excludes, and how to find out what your own policy actually does.
The Two Pots
Basisverzekering is the basic package. Everyone living in the Netherlands is legally required to have it, the government sets what it covers, and that content is identical at every insurer. Only the premium and the service differ.
Aanvullende verzekering is supplementary cover. It is optional, you pay extra for it, and its contents are set by the insurer. This is where packages differ enormously — and where most private psychological care is reimbursed.
What the Basic Package Requires
For psychological treatment to be paid from the basisverzekering, several conditions have to hold at once:
- A referral, from your huisarts, a medical specialist or a company doctor, dated before treatment starts. Our guide on getting a referral from your huisarts covers what the letter needs.
- A BIG-registered practitioner. The BIG register is the Dutch government's register of healthcare professionals. For psychologists the relevant protected titles are GZ-psycholoog, klinisch psycholoog and psychotherapeut. Membership of a professional body such as the NIP is not the same thing.
- A DSM-5 classification. There has to be a diagnosable disorder. Symptoms on their own, however unpleasant, are not sufficient grounds for reimbursement.
- Usually, a contracted provider. If your provider has no contract with your insurer, a naturapolis will typically pay only part of the bill — often around 60–75%. A restitutiepolis reimburses more freely but costs more in premium.
And then the part people forget:
The Eigen Risico Applies
The eigen risico is the annual deductible: the amount of basic-package care you pay yourself before the insurer starts paying. For 2026 it is €385 per adult per calendar year. You can voluntarily raise it, up to €500 extra, in exchange for a lower premium.
Psychological treatment under the basic package counts against it. In practice, if you have used no other care that year, the first €385 of your therapy is yours to pay.
Two things are exempt and worth remembering:
- Your huisarts does not count towards the eigen risico.
- The POH-GGZ, the mental health nurse at the huisarts practice, does not either.
That makes the POH-GGZ genuinely free at the point of use, which is unusual in this system.
The government sets the eigen risico each year, so check the current figure rather than assuming it has stayed the same.
What the Basic Package Does Not Cover
This catches people out, because the exclusions are precisely the things many expats come to therapy for. Generally not reimbursed from the basisverzekering:
- Burnout and work-related stress
- Adjustment disorders — which is often how the strain of relocating is classified
- Relationship and couples problems
- Sleep problems without an underlying disorder
- Grief, unless it meets the threshold for a diagnosable disorder
- Coaching and personal development of any kind
If you are here about burnout or the exhaustion of building a life in a new country, the basic package is in most cases not the route. That is not a loophole — it is a deliberate policy choice about what collective insurance funds.
Supplementary Cover: Where Private Practice Fits
Aanvullende packages often reimburse treatment by practitioners who are not BIG-registered but are registered with a recognised professional association. Our psychologists are PSYCHOLOOG NIP® registered and hold AGB codes.
How this differs from the basic package:
- No eigen risico. Supplementary cover pays from the first euro.
- Usually no referral needed, though some insurers ask for one — check before you start.
- Capped, typically as an amount per session and a maximum per year. A common shape is a contribution per session up to a yearly ceiling.
- Highly variable. Two packages from the same insurer can differ completely.
Reimbursement varies so much between packages that the only reliable answer is your own policy and your own insurer. The steps below are the fastest way to get it.
How to Check Your Own Policy
Do this before your first session, not after.
- Find your policy documents — the polisvoorwaarden for your supplementary package, not the basic one.
- Search for the right words: psychologische zorg, psychosociale hulp, alternatieve geneeswijzen. Private psychological care is often filed under the third of those, which surprises people.
- Call your insurer and ask four specific questions:
- Do you reimburse a psychologist registered with the NIP who is not BIG-registered?
- How much per session, and what is the annual maximum?
- Do you require a referral?
- Which AGB code should appear on the invoice?
Ask by email if you can, so you have the answer in writing.
What Our Invoices Look Like
We work on a self-pay basis: you pay us directly and claim back whatever your supplementary package allows. Our invoices carry the practitioner's AGB code, the practice details, the date, the duration and the treatment description that insurers expect, so you can submit them without having to ask us for a reissue.
A first phone consultation of fifteen minutes is free. Current session prices are on our pricing section.
The Short Version
If you have a diagnosable disorder, a referral, and the time to wait, the basic package is the cheaper route. If you are dealing with burnout, adjustment or relationship difficulties, want to start now, or need therapy in English or Polish, you are most likely looking at self-pay with partial reimbursement from supplementary cover.
GGZ or private practice compares those two routes in more detail.
This guide describes the Dutch system in general terms and reflects the rules as they stand for 2026. What your own insurance covers depends on your insurer and your policy, so always check your own terms.