ITIC Global 2026 | Mental health expat wellbeing, insurance cover, and assistance provision

The ITIJ team have been reporting from ITIC Global in Istanbul this week (1–5 November 2026), sharing the discussions that take place at the conference. Read all reports.

Taisia Slobodjaniuk, Founder and Managing Director, Expat Psychologist

One in two expatriates is at high risk of experiencing depression or anxiety – 2.5 times the rate among colleagues in their home countries – according to Slobodjaniuk, who opened the session with this stark statistic.

Having coined the term ‘expat psychology’ and founded Expat Psychologist in 2009, Slobodjaniuk drew on her extensive experience to highlight the distinctive psychological pressures facing people building lives abroad, from corporate assignees and their partners to international students and senior travellers.

She identified four factors driving demand for mental health support: declining stigma, isolation associated with remote working, cumulative relocation fatigue, and a younger generation increasingly willing to seek psychological help.

While expatriates may experience familiar symptoms of anxiety, depression, and burnout, their underlying causes can differ significantly. Identity disruption, lost support networks, and relationship strain are particularly prevalent, especially when accompanying partners struggle to establish independent lives abroad.

Mental health challenges are a leading cause of failed international assignments, which can cost employers between three and five times an employee’s annual salary

Slobodjaniuk warned that mental health challenges are a leading cause of failed international assignments, which can cost employers between three and five times an employee’s annual salary. Yet only 6% of expatriates consider their mental health before departure, she told delegates.

She urged insurers and assistance providers to prioritise prevention through psychological screening, proactive support programmes, and specialist networks of therapists familiar with internationally mobile lifestyles.

“Access to a therapist is not the same as access to the right therapist,” she stressed.

Concluding, Slobodjaniuk called for a more human-centred approach to mental health provision. “You already have most of what is needed. What I hope today’s conversation adds is a little more of the human picture – the one I see every day in my consulting room.”

Susan Yates, Senior Director, Global Healthcare Delivery, BCBS Global Solutions 

International students are increasingly facing complex mental health challenges, yet many only seek assistance once they are already in crisis, said Yates.

She called for a more proactive approach to student wellbeing, warning that unfamiliar healthcare systems, cultural differences, and limited support networks could make accessing appropriate care particularly difficult for young people studying abroad.

Even students with existing mental health conditions may struggle to anticipate how studying abroad could affect their wellbeing, particularly where language barriers, cultural differences, and limited local services complicate access to appropriate care.

She also examined the influence of social media, which can help students maintain relationships at home but may simultaneously intensify feelings of isolation and inadequacy.

Even comprehensive support packages have little value unless students know how to access them, feel comfortable doing so, and receive appropriate care before their difficulties escalate.

A particular concern is that students frequently seek assistance only when they are already experiencing a crisis, rather than accessing support at an earlier stage.

Yates urged assistance providers to move beyond simply offering referrals, recognising that students may lack the confidence or knowledge to follow through with treatment. Instead, ongoing case management, proactive follow-ups, and clear pathways to care are essential to ensuring vulnerable students do not fall through the gaps.

She pointed to telehealth and digital counselling as valuable options, particularly in destinations where culturally appropriate mental health services are difficult to access. However, provider networks must also be assessed for availability, waiting times, and capacity to accept new patients.

Yates stressed the importance of better coordination between insurers, assistance companies, educational institutions, families, and clinicians, alongside efforts to normalise mental health support and address confidentiality concerns.

Ultimately, she argued that even comprehensive support packages have little value unless students know how to access them, feel comfortable doing so, and receive appropriate care before their difficulties escalate.

Declan McDermott, Director of Global Provider Networks, Healix

What happens when a traveller with dementia suddenly loses the person responsible for their care while overseas? This was the scenario presented by McDermott to demonstrate how vulnerability can complicate even seemingly straightforward medical assistance cases.

He described a 72-year-old traveller with early-stage dementia whose spouse, also their primary carer, suffers a stroke while abroad. With one person hospitalised and the other left without support, assistance providers are suddenly faced with two interconnected cases requiring very different responses.

Beyond arranging medical treatment, questions arise around the vulnerable traveller’s capacity to make decisions, medication management, accommodation, financial responsibility, and whether the couple can eventually return home together.

McDermott explained that such situations rarely involve a single medical issue. Cognitive impairment, behavioural concerns, safeguarding risks, and questions of capacity can overlap, requiring multiple professionals to work together while navigating unfamiliar healthcare systems.

“Care is not equally accessible everywhere in the world,” he observed, acknowledging the additional difficulties created by variations in local healthcare provision.

Successful case management depends not only on resolving the medical emergency, but on recognising what happens when the support structures surrounding a vulnerable traveller unexpectedly disappear

However, one of the greatest challenges is establishing who takes responsibility for the overall case. While individual teams may manage clinical treatment, transport, or practical arrangements, the traveller’s circumstances cannot always be separated into distinct operational tasks.

McDermott stressed the importance of recognising vulnerability early, although he acknowledged that assistance companies frequently encounter these situations only after an emergency has developed.

He advocated appointing a dedicated case manager with a comprehensive understanding of the individuals involved, ensuring that appropriate support arrangements remain in place throughout the assistance process.

His central message was that successful case management depends not only on resolving the medical emergency, but on recognising what happens when the support structures surrounding a vulnerable traveller unexpectedly disappear.