Blog · Before You Book
How to Choose an English-Speaking Therapist in Cascais
This one should be genuinely useful even to someone who books elsewhere. That is what makes it rank.
Check the register first
Portuguese psychologists are registered with the Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses and each has a registration number you can verify. Psychotherapists trained abroad may hold accreditation from a different national body instead. Neither is a problem — the absence of any verifiable registration is. Ask for the number. Anyone legitimate expects the question.
Psychologist, psychotherapist, psychiatrist, coach
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor and the only one of the four who can prescribe. A psychologist has a university degree in psychology; a psychotherapist has completed a separate multi-year clinical training, which may or may not sit on top of a psychology degree. A coach has none of the above, which is fine for goal-setting and not fine for trauma.
Fees and what to expect in Cascais
Private sessions in the Cascais and Lisbon area typically run in a band of roughly €60–€120 for individual work, with couples sessions higher because they are longer. Ask about the cancellation policy before you start — it is the single most common source of later friction.
Insurance and invoices
Most private practices issue an invoice with your NIF, which you submit to your insurer yourself. Reimbursement levels vary widely by policy and some plans cap the number of sessions per year. Check your specific policy before assuming; do not rely on what a friend's plan covered.
In-person or online
Online works better than most people expect, and the evidence for common presentations is broadly comparable. In-person tends to be worth the trip for couples work, for trauma, and for anyone who finds it easy to keep things tidy and abstract at a distance. Distance from the practice matters more than people admit — a long commute is the most common reason therapy quietly ends.
Language, more carefully than you think
Working in your second language is not neutral. It is sometimes an advantage — it creates distance from material that is unbearable in your mother tongue. It is sometimes a problem, because the words for feelings are usually the ones learned earliest and least translatably. Say which of the two you suspect it is for you.
Questions to ask in the first session
How long do you expect this to take? What would tell us it is not working? Have you worked with this kind of problem before? What happens if I want to stop?
The three-session rule
Give it three sessions before deciding. Session one is admin and nerves. Session two is usually the honest one. By session three you will know whether you can say difficult things in that room, which is the only criterion that matters.