Private practice as a therapist in Europe

[Jibba]

Hi,

I'm a senior registered psychiatric nurse living and working in Australia (RPN4 grade: equivalent to nurse unit manager / senior case manager or team leader in a CMHT) and I'm looking to become credentialed with the ACMHN (Australian college of mental health nurses). At some point in the future I'd like to spend some of my long service leave abroad in Europe, supplementing the time off by offering counselling / psychotherapy as a practice - mostly telehealth.

I'm a UK citizen and my likely base would be mainland Europe.

As a credentialed psychiatric nurse offering online therapy; I suppose my main questions are: is there anything stopping me from legally operating as an online psychotherapist (using one of the various online therapy applications or just by obtaining traffic from my own site) even if I'm not based in the country where the site is set up? For example BetterHelp utilises a pool of Australian therapists from their Australian site. Can I continue to provide the same service using such platforms even though I'm abroad?

So, I'm wondering where the legalities lie in terms of a) my ability to offer psychotherapy in other countries when my nursing registration and training - which allows me to practice as a psychotherapist, isn't recognised there - or does that not matter if I'm using an online platform? b) where do I pay tax if I'm earning whilst overseas?

I appreciate your time, thanks.

[DavidFR, BSN, MSN, RN]

I can only really help you on the tax question.

I live in France and have dual French/British nationality. Several years ago I had a UK income in addition to what I earn from my regular job in France. I was told by both French and British tax authorities that what I earn in France I declare in France and what I earn in the UK I declare in the UK. That's exactly what I did and didn't run into any bother. Both countries were clear that they don't expect double taxation. I would deduce from that that if your overseas clients pay into your Australian bank account, you declare that in Australia IF you're living in the UK or France. Each country will have its own tax regulations and you really need to check with the tax authorities in Australia and in your country of residence. 

One thing I am fairly sure of is that if you are double taxed, you should be able to claim a reimbursement from the European country you're taxed in. 

As ever, always check with the authorities.