How do I get a spot in therapy?

For those with public health insurance, the process usually begins with a psychotherapy consultation. You can contact practices directly or use the 116117 appointment referral service. After the initial assessment, be sure to ask how and when a recommended treatment can proceed. You do not need a referral for this. Form PTV 11, which you’ll receive after the consultation, is a written recommendation; the health insurance provider will later decide, upon application, whether to cover standard therapy—that is, the actual short- or long-term therapy.

In case of immediate danger, dial 112 in Germany and the local emergency number when abroad. The Telephone Counseling Service Call 0800 1110111, 0800 1110222, or 116 123—toll-free, day or night. In Germany, call 116117 to be connected with medical assistance outside of office hours.

No office hours yet: the first appointment

You can schedule an appointment directly with a practice or by calling 116117, either by phone or online. The initial consultation is mandatory prior to acute treatment, trial sessions, and guideline-based therapy, with exceptions such as when changing therapists. It may take place at a different practice than where the subsequent treatment will be provided, and initial consultations with multiple therapists are permitted because it’s important that there’s a good rapport. How to schedule your first Appointment with a psychologist A separate page explains how to get it.

The deadlines for 116117

If 116117 schedules an appointment, certain time limits apply—both for the initial consultation and later when using a referral code. Within one week of your call, they must schedule an appointment, and that appointment must take place no later than four weeks after that week; for urgent care, no later than two weeks. According to the 116117 Patient Page That amounts to a maximum of five weeks in total, or three weeks for acute care. If the 116117 appointment service cannot find an appointment within the specified timeframe, it must offer an outpatient appointment at a hospital within an additional week. You are not entitled to a specific therapist, and the practice must only be within a reasonable distance. Therefore, you should also call practices yourself at the same time.

PTV 11 in Your Hands: What's Next

What’s listed on the PTV 11 determines the next step. If the doctor’s office can treat you, you’ll proceed directly there. If treatment is needed promptly, this will be indicated by a Mediation Code on PTV 11. Using this code, 116117 arranges an appointment for acute treatment or for trial sessions at another practice; according to 116117, the subsequent treatment takes place there. If psychotherapy is recommended but not noted as urgently needed, 116117 does not arrange trial sessions, and you must contact practices yourself. If the consultation does not recommend psychotherapy, the practice will, if necessary, provide information about other forms of support, such as self-help groups, rehabilitation, or counseling centers.

Acute treatment is intended to provide relief from acute symptoms and can begin immediately after the consultation. You don’t need a referral; the practice simply notifies your health insurance provider, and the treatment covers up to 600 minutes—for example, twelve 50-minute sessions. If short-term therapy follows later, these hours will be counted toward it.

For adults, at least two and up to four exploratory sessions take place before starting guideline-based therapy, even after acute treatment. These sessions also serve to assess the personal fit—that is, whether a solid therapeutic relationship can be established with your therapist. Decisions regarding further treatment should be made together with you after you have been informed. I recommend that you mention during the conversation whether the session felt right and why, in order to build a relationship. If there was no personal rapport with the first therapist referred to you, the appointment service should arrange another appointment for trial sessions with a different therapist.

After the evidentiary hearings: medical report and motion

Before starting standard treatment, the practice needs a medical report and approval from the health insurance company. For the Physical Examination Report, the consultation report, the practice will refer you to a doctor no later than after the trial sessions. The doctor must send it to the practice no later than three weeks after the examination. This requirement does not apply if the referral is made by a doctor under contract with the health insurance provider or upon the recommendation of a hospital following psychiatric, psychosomatic, or psychotherapeutic inpatient treatment. You submit the application for short-term or long-term therapy to your health insurance provider; the practice will assist you with this and provide the supporting rationale. The insurance provider must make a decision regarding short-term therapy no later than three weeks after receiving the application. If the provider does not notify you by then of a delay with sufficient justification and a new deadline, the application is considered approved. You are the only one who will receive the decision regarding short-term therapy; please forward it to the practice immediately. If an expert opinion is required—for example, in the case of long-term therapy—the health insurance provider has five weeks to make a decision. You may file an appeal against a denial.

Other points of contact in the point-of-sale system

Basic group psychotherapy is a standalone group program for people who have been recommended psychotherapy during a consultation: up to four 100-minute sessions, without a referral, application, or approval. It prepares participants for group therapy and does not replace the probationary sessions. You can call psychotherapy outpatient clinics at universities, hospitals, and training and continuing education institutions directly, without a referral, and training clinics treat patients with public health insurance. For information on how to select and contact specific practices, see the article on this topic, How to Find a Psychotherapist.

Reimbursement and Out-of-Pocket Costs: Clarify in Advance

Under certain conditions, you may be eligible for reimbursement of psychotherapy costs at a private practice. Clarify this with your health insurance provider before beginning treatment and keep a record of your efforts to find a provider. The law does not specify a fixed three-month search period.

If the health insurance provider was unable to provide an urgent service in a timely manner, it will reimburse the costs in accordance with Section 13(3) of Book V of the Social Code (SGB V) the costs of services obtained on one’s own, to the extent that they were necessary. An unsuccessful search alone does not justify reimbursement. Treatment by psychotherapists who meet the requirements for entry in the medical registry is eligible for reimbursement: a medical license and completed advanced training or specialized certification in a recognized procedure. According to the Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists (BPtK), reimbursement is a last resort if the appointment service center is unable to find either a private practice or a hospital outpatient clinic. As supporting documentation for the application for Reimbursement of Costs at a Private Practice The BPtK refers to the letter from the appointment scheduling office, a certificate from the consultation confirming the urgent need for treatment, and the name of the private practice.

According to the [source], anyone who pays out of pocket will BPtK Patient Information are usually treated as if they had private insurance. If possible, agree on the type, duration, and cost of treatment in writing before it begins. I think it makes sense to invest in yourself and, if necessary, pay for the therapy yourself—either online or in person.

I offer online psychological counseling. This does not include the diagnosis or treatment of mental health conditions. This counseling is not a substitute for necessary psychotherapy.