Mental health question (and more)

[u/Natural-Gazelle311]

Hola, ¡feliz año nuevo!

So, there is the question. In this year I'm planning on traveling to Spain to live there, but there is a problem. I have some mental issues that need to be supervised by a psychiatrist. How it's done in Spain? Do municipalities have their own mental institutions? Does insurance cover this? How can I seek for help if I'm a total stranger with no residence?

Mind that I don't want to live in Madrid, rather my key point is Santiago de Compostela, Galicia (I'm a Medievalist, so.. yeah).

P.S. I have a pet! Where should I look for pet restrictions so I can travel to Spain with my kitty and don't get him taken away by customs?

[u/Natural-Gazelle311]

Yes, I seek a job here

[u/Marfernandezgz → u/Natural-Gazelle311]

If you are working you have free healthcare. Mental care is included. Go to "centro de salud" (centro de saúde in Galicia) and ask for a "médico de cabecera". This will be your reference doctor. He or she will be the person that can ask for another apointment like mental health.

The problem is that there are really few doctor on mental health and less even psicologist at the public system. It's posible you will get an apointment for months or even years later.

If you have a crisis you can go to Urgencias/ Urxencias and someone will for sure help you. There they can try to "force" an apointment in a few days but it's not allways possible.

For the pet (dog , cat or ferret) If you came from other EU country, Norway or North Ireland you can just bring it with a EU pet pasport. If you came from outside you will need more documents.

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/carry/pets-and-other-animals/index_en.htm

[u/Natural-Gazelle311 → u/Marfernandezgz]

¡muchísimas gracias por tu apoyo! This seems very helpful

[u/Marfernandezgz → u/Natural-Gazelle311]

I just checked your profile and saw you are going to USC as student. Universities ussually have some mental health programs for students.

If you can bring you cat they are asociations that can take care of he or she for some weeks until you find a place to live with.

[u/Natural-Gazelle311 → u/Marfernandezgz]

Sadly, it's not an option. So I want to work here and, after some time, get MA in USC with saved money and a place to live in

[u/Marfernandezgz → u/Natural-Gazelle311]

If you are from a non EU country you can not work without a visa. You will need a job before coming here or a student visa

[u/Natural-Gazelle311 → u/Marfernandezgz]

That's the part of plan too. I know about that and I hope I'll get one

[u/Marfernandezgz → u/Natural-Gazelle311]

The explanaition i gave about healthcare does not apply if you dont have a legal job without an EU citizenship. You can go to urgences but you would not get a regular apointment

[u/Natural-Gazelle311 → u/Marfernandezgz]

I'll have that in mind, thank you!