Kela-therapy
Kela therapy, or rehabilitation psychotherapy, is a form of therapy supported by society for individuals, couples, or families. It is often chosen when challenges are long-lasting and more severe, and when treatment aims to ensure a sufficiently long, goal-oriented, and effective form of therapy tailored to your or your needs.
From the Kela website, you can find instructions on how to apply for Kela-supported rehabilitation psychotherapy. Read the instructions here. You can also undergo a psychotherapy period — such as short-term psychotherapy — privately or start psychotherapy privately before deciding on Kela’s rehabilitation psychotherapy.
What does kela-therapy cost?
Starting at 105 € / 45 min
You can see the specific prices for each therapist on their profile as well as when booking appointments online for each therapist’s services. Learn more about our pricing. If Kela grants rehabilitation psychotherapy, Kela covers 57.60€ per session.
When to consider kela-therapy?
It is advisable to apply for Kela therapy when mental health challenges have persisted and problems have deepened, requiring longer-term support to address your situation.
Kela-therapy – How to apply:
You can apply for Kela therapy if:
- You are 16-67 years old
- You have mental health-related challenges, such as depression or anxiety, that interfere with your ability to work or study
- You have received at least 3 months of appropriate treatment since the diagnosis of the mental disorder
- Based on a psychiatrist’s statement, it can be assessed that rehabilitation psychotherapy is necessary to support or improve your work or study ability.
B-statement
For Kela therapy, you need a B-statement issued by a psychiatrist. You can obtain a referral to a psychiatrist from:
- Public healthcare
- Occupational healthcare
- Privately, at your own expense, from private healthcare
Book an appointment with a psychiatrist
Once the psychiatrist has diagnosed you, a 3-month treatment and evaluation period will begin.
Find a suitable psychotherapist for you
If possible, visit a couple of therapists for introductory sessions. It’s important to find a therapist who feels right for you.
Visit the psychiatrist again
After at least 3 months have passed since the first meeting, the psychiatrist will evaluate your situation and write a B-statement for Kela therapy.
Submit the application to Kela
Fill out the application form provided by Kela and attach the B-statement to it. Kela support begins only after the approval decision has been made.
Start the psychotherapy
Psychotherapy typically lasts 1–3 years. The application to Kela must be renewed annually.
Why withHeltti?
Expertise
You can trust our expertise. With us, you know you’ll receive the best service in the field. We have carefully selected therapists with high-quality backgrounds and suitability for our team.
Impact and effectiveness
Impact in numbers: In 2023, we were able to offer therapy to 2,190 clients. Nearly all of them experienced an improvement in their work capacity, and on a satisfaction scale of 1–5, the average rating was 4.2.
Responsibility
Long-term psychotherapy is not the best solution for everyone. We recognize that different situations call for therapies of varying lengths, and we don’t recommend longer therapies than necessary.
withHeltti in numbers
98
Therapists
2 190
CUSTOMERS in 2023
19 683
appointments in 2023
75%
short therapy appointments
“Heltti’s premises are calming and homely. Sometimes I come to the Lempi café earlier to unwind with a cup of tea.”
Customer feedback
“My therapist has the skill to perceive the complexity of the human being and the ability to engage and understand another person’s inner world.”
Customer feedback
“The best way to describe my therapist is through their activity, expertise, and empathy. I feel that they genuinely care about me.”
Customer feedback
Starting therapy is easy:
Get to know our therapists
All our therapists excel in their field, giving you the freedom to select someone you feel comfortable confiding in. If necessary, you can always switch therapists.
schedule your first appointment
Booking your first appointment is easy and you can do it conveniently on our website. You can choose between a remote or an in-person appointment with your selected therapist.
arrive to the appointment
Before your first appointment, you’ll receive a welcome email with easy-to-follow instructions for both in-person and remote meetings.
FAQ: Kela-therapy
We have gathered here some of the most frequently asked questions regarding psychotherapy supported by Kela. If you cannot find the answer you are looking for, you can contact us via email (withheltti@heltti.fi) or directly to your therapist (firstname.lastname@heltti.fi), or by sending a message on Instagram: @with.heltti. However, please do not share any sensitive information with us via Instagram for security reasons.
Psychotherapy is suitable for individuals facing deeper or complex challenges, requiring longer-term support and assistance to alleviate their situation. Due to the shortage of psychotherapists, accessing therapy can be difficult or may take a long time.
However, perhaps help is available through short therapy more swiftly? Short therapy is a solution for many people facing mental challenges — access to support is immediate, and according to research, short-term therapy is effective.
Short-term therapy is suitable for you if…
- You seek help promptly and are motivated for therapy.
- You seek help for sufficiently limited challenges.
- You are able to open up to the therapist about even difficult and emotionally charged issues.
Did you know that the Finnish therapy system relies heavily on psychotherapy? Psychotherapy is offered to help with various mental challenges, even though it is intended as a tool for clearly challenging situations. Currently, many are directed to or want to be directed immediately to psychotherapy, even though help could be obtained more quickly from readily available short-therapy. This creates an illusion of a shortage of therapists, even though it is actually about large numbers of people being directed to a certain type of service with limited availability.
You don’t have to figure it out yourself! That’s what mental health professionals are for—they can assess which type of support would be best for you or your loved one’s situation.
First of all, you should reach out to one of the following:
- If you are a student: contact your school’s healthcare services.
- If you are employed: get in touch with your occupational health services. They can refer you to a work-related psychologist, and the process will proceed from there.
- Outside of these services, it’s advisable to book an appointment with either public or private healthcare, where they can assess the type of support that would suit you best.
- You can also book a first appointment directly for short-term therapy without a referral, where a professional can assess your situation and the extent of support you may need.
First things first: there are indeed psychotherapists available, and they have open slots. The biggest challenge arises when your goal is to find a psychotherapist for rehabilitation psychotherapy supported by Kela, who also has available appointments. But don’t be discouraged—although the process may be lengthy and Google may not always provide immediate answers, reach out to therapists boldly and consider asking a friend for assistance in your search if you’re feeling overwhelmed.
You can also find introductions to our psychotherapists on the withHeltti website. Many of them have available appointments. Here you can familiarize yourself with our psychotherapists who offer rehabilitation psychotherapy supported by Kela.
The therapist’s profile indicates if they have availability for new clients seeking Kela-supported therapy. You can also inquire directly with the therapist about future openings for Kela therapy appointments via email. While there may not be available slots right now, the situation could change in a few months, so it’s worth asking about future openings as well. The earlier you inquire, the more likely you are to find available slots.
Test and explore. All therapeutic work is based on a good collaborative relationship. Take your time to get to know the therapist: one or several introductory meetings are often necessary. This way, both parties can ensure that you establish a good conversational connection. Sometimes it’s worth meeting a couple of therapists before deciding who you want to start a long-term collaboration with.
Meet our KELA-therapists
Here you can find all the mental health professionals at Heltti who provide KELA- and short therapy. If you want to schedule your first appointment as quickly as possible, click here and see a summary of available time slots. Often, appointments are even available for the next day. The most important thing is to take the first step: that’s where the knots start to unravel.
