Demand for psychological assistance increases after the pandemic

The day-to-day problems intensified after the vital stoppage suffered by the confinements. In other words, psychological disorders have intensified and cases of anxiety and depression have multiplied due to the pandemic. This is corroborated by a study analyzing the main reasons why people decide to take out private insurance.

Spanish public health is one of the best in the world, but that, in theory, is wonderful, because in practice it is not so wonderful. For example, to go to the doctor, such as going to the psychologist, first you have to go to the family doctor and he will tell us if we need it or not and then wait several weeks or months until the day of the appointment.

However, with private insurance we can request today’s appointment for tomorrow, almost. Or at most, wait a month, in the case that we are in the middle of August, which is usually the holidays of private health centers.

Private psychological assistance, the favorite option

On the Rastreator Salud website, they have carried out a study to find out the main reasons why people decide to take out private insurance. Among the conclusions, it appears that psychiatry and psychology consultations have increased after the pandemic, as well as searches for private insurance.

According to the General Council of Psychology of Spain, 1 in 4 Spaniards has symptoms of depression after the pandemic. This type of disorder does not require a few sessions, but is a long treatment that often requires the help of drugs.

Un hombre en terapia con seguro privado The average cost of private insurance is usually around 862 euros per year and, depending on the insurance, they usually cover around 20 therapy sessions each year. Moreover, the vast majority of private insurance forces us to go through the psychiatrist first to assess and examine us and be he who directs us to a psychologist (or other specialist) or tells us to continue therapy with him.

In addition, a fact that is sometimes unknown, and that is that only the psychiatrist is the one who can prescribe medicines. If a psychologist recommends or prescribes any type of medication, we must immediately distrust and report it to the center, since he is committing an illegality.

Before hiring you have to inform yourself

Not all private insurance is the same, nor do we all have the same needs. That a private health insurance includes psychological assistance is quite common nowadays, but not all of them include it, there are some that do not, but it is necessary to pay for the sessions separately.

Therefore, it is always recommended to ask about all the medical coverage included in the insurance, whether we need them at that time or not. Also, the price, the more complete the insurance, the higher the monthly cost. In addition, depending on the age of the insured, it will have one price or another, even having more than 1,400 euros of difference between the youngest and the oldest, since the older the insured is, it follows that the greater the risk will be For insurance.