Listlessness, fear or grief have taken root in everyday life? Then professional help might be useful. How to find psychotherapy?
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All people experience crises and problems in life. But sometimes it’s just not possible to find your way through difficult times on your own – for example because depression or an anxiety disorder are involved. Questions and answers about psychotherapy:
How do I know that therapy would make sense for me?
If the mental state is so bad that the quality of life suffers, this is an important sign. “If thoughts and feelings endanger relationships, social contacts or work, psychotherapy can help,” says Gebhard Hentschel, psychotherapist and national chairman of the German Association of Psychotherapists (DPtV).
Sometimes it is also the body that signals that something is wrong with the psyche – for example through tinnitus or digestive problems.
Psychotherapy can also be triggered by a traumatic event, such as an accident or the illness of a loved one.
Finding a place for therapy: Do I have to go to the doctor’s office first?
According to the Health Knowledge Foundation, a referral from a family doctor’s practice is not a must in order to start looking for a place in therapy. But an appointment there can be useful – also to rule out other illnesses. Because the thyroid gland can also be behind depressive symptoms, according to the German Depression Aid.
How do I find a therapist?
Psychological psychotherapists work in different places – for example in their own practice, but also in hospital outpatient clinics or psychosocial counseling centers.
You can go there and make an appointment for a psychotherapeutic consultation. Because it is mandatory before psychotherapy can begin. “There it is clarified whether therapy is necessary – and how any waiting times can be bridged in a sensible way,” says Hentschel.
Statutory health insurance patients can also make an appointment via the central appointment booking office of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians.
Important to know: The fact that you have an appointment in a practice does not mean that there is also a free therapy place there. With the findings from the psychotherapeutic consultation hour, however, one can try to find a place at other practices and be put on the waiting list.
Speaking of the waiting list, how long do I have to wait?
It is not possible to predict exactly how long it will take to get a place in therapy. But you can’t do it without patience. Because psychotherapists are asked by more people than they can accommodate. This problem has been exacerbated by the pandemic, as a current DPtV survey among members shows.
According to this, in the summer of 2022, psychotherapists were still being asked 40 percent more frequently by patients than in January 2020. At that time there were an average of 4.9 patients per week, in June 2022 the number was 6.9 patients. The DPtV survey also shows that there is greater demand in large cities than in smaller towns or in rural areas.
Almost every fourth patient receives an appointment for an initial consultation. However, this does not always work in the short term: according to the DPtV, around half have to wait longer than a month.
How do I bridge the waiting time?
Those waiting for help should take good care of themselves. “Don’t back down. Talk to good friends and family about your problems, visit self-help groups and talk to those affected,” says psychotherapist Hentschel.
In exceptional situations and acute crises, there is the possibility of acute treatment, which consists of twelve therapy units of 50 minutes each. And can therefore often provide initial relief.
And: “If you have the feeling that you are at high risk, report to a psychiatric hospital for inpatient treatment,” says Hentschel.
When it finally starts – who pays for the psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is a service provided by statutory health insurance. According to the Health Knowledge Foundation, this means that the health insurance company bears the costs for the therapy if it is a practice with a health insurance license.
In the case of private health insurance, the assumption of costs is not uniformly regulated. You can find out whether and how much the insurance company pays by looking at the insurance contract.
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