I will just first off say upfront that if you are dealing with an issue such as anxiety, I don’t recommend moving to another country. Wouldn’t it be nice if shifting locations would make it all magically disappear? No such luck. The added stressor is navigating another country’s health care system. When I lived in Australia in the 1990s, the biggest health task I undertook was going to the dentist.
I am fortunate that New Zealand has a very good health care system. It’s not as though I am navigating the health care system in a completely foreign environment. Nonetheless, it is a slightly different system. The way that you obtain and receive care differs from my experiences in America, where I had private insurance from my employer.
First off, you may already know that New Zealand has a nationalised health care system that follows the British model, like so many other systems in this country. This means that anyone who is a New Zealand resident can receive care on the system.
One of the first things I did in New Zealand was to locate an anxiety group so that I could ask locals questions about how to access health care services. This group’s advice was invaluable during last Southern summer, when I was slammed hard by an anxiety episode after my bully boss came on board. I needed to find a GP pronto. GPs can prescribe medicines (including those for anxiety and depression) in New Zealand. Through online searching we found a local GP who was taking new patients on the health care system. I managed to drag myself into her office while in an anxiety fog.
My guess is that going to my GP is similar to going to a doctor in Canada or Britain. I can generally get an appointment on short notice. The waiting room-office procedure is very similar to the US, except that I pay the $40 flat fee upfront when I arrive. No one asks to see my insurance card because I don’t have one. I recall that they asked to photocopy my residency visa before my first appointment.
I find the routine medical treatment here much more personalised. My GP spent a very long talking with me during our first appointment. We always meet in her office at her desk, and I also notice that she wears street clothes during every appointment. The GP (not the nurse) calls me back to her office from the waiting room. The standard $40 appointment is supposed to be 15 minutes long, but they are usually twice that long. I never feel rushed out of her office. There is also a pharmacy on site (like I’ve seen at other medical offices), so no messing around with going to Walgreen’s.
No doubt the major difference in treatment for anxiety between the US and New Zealand is that doctors here (at least from what I’ve observed) are very conservative about what medications they prescribe. I knew so many people taking medicines such as Klonapin and Xanax in the US. I once had a US doctor ask me if I wanted a prescription sleep aid when I mentioned that I had trouble falling asleep during a stressful period. My GP cringes when I tell her these and other stories.
Of course, doctors in New Zealand will prescribe such medicines if the patient has panic attacks while flying, for example, but in general they are prescribed only after all other approaches (including talk therapy) have been attempted. I am 100 percent on board with the conservative approach here.
Speaking of talk therapy, counseling from a licensed psychologist is very expensive in New Zealand. You can qualify for free sessions if you meet certain criteria, but in general you will pay around $140+ unless you have private insurance. You can also access free counseling through a programme called EAP if your workplace participates. When I was dealing with my bully boss last year, I was able to qualify for EAP assistance, but I had to get a referral from my GP first.
The cultural critic in me is simultaneously fascinated by the health care process in a different country. One of my goals for this year is to work with a specialist to determine the cause of the anxiety. It has taken a lot of courage for me to use the health care system here in this circumstance. Everything is new on so many levels, but I am forging ahead.
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