Mandatory Attendance at Psychotherapy Sessions Enforced
Germany Proposes Legal Obligation for Psychotherapists to Report Free Treatment Capacities
A proposed change in the law is being considered in Germany to address long waiting times for psychotherapy, particularly for patients with severe mental illnesses. Currently, psychotherapists are not legally obligated to report their free treatment capacities to central appointment services. However, this is set to change, with statutory health insurers advocating for a legal obligation for psychotherapists to report half of their treatment capacities and their available consultation hours to the central appointment allocation offices (Terminservicestellen) of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians [1][2][3].
The statutory health insurers argue that despite no overall shortage of psychotherapy places, patients with severe mental illnesses often struggle to find available therapy slots. The central appointment offices would then be responsible for exclusively allocating these reported slots to patients efficiently and promptly.
This measure aims to ensure a better organized and faster access to psychotherapeutic care, particularly for those in urgent need who currently face long waits and poor responsiveness when contacting practices individually. The central appointment offices are legally mandated to offer appointments for psychotherapeutic consultations within four weeks, but in practice, more than half of requests were not fulfilled in the required timeframe in 2023 [2][3].
The association, led by deputy head Stefanie Stoff-Ahnis, has addressed the issue of long psychotherapy waiting times in a position paper. Stoff-Ahnis argues that it's unfair for severely mentally ill people to find a therapy spot on their own without direct help and supportive guidance.
| Aspect | Current Status | Proposed Change | |-----------------------|---------------------------------|----------------------------------------------| | Legal obligation for psychotherapists to report free slots | No mandatory reporting yet | Mandatory reporting of free treatment capacities to Terminservicestellen | | Appointment allocation | Decentralized, often ineffective | Centralized via Terminservicestellen with exclusive right to allocate slots | | Reason for proposal | Long waiting times, difficulties especially for severely ill patients | Improve access, quicker appointment allocation, reduce patient burden in finding therapy |
The focus of the discussion regarding appointment mediation is on those with severe mental illness who have trouble finding a therapy spot. The appointment service centers are playing a crucial role in the discussion and potential legal regulation of appointment mediation in psychotherapy. The association has highlighted the struggle of the appointment service centers to mediate appointments for the psychotherapeutic outpatient clinic within the four-week deadline.
This legislative proposal is driven by the statutory health insurers' goal to improve timely and equitable access to psychotherapeutic care by making therapy slot availability transparent and centrally managed [1][2][3].
- The proposed change in German law aims to improve access to psychotherapeutic care, particularly for those with severe mental illnesses, by mandating psychotherapists to report half of their treatment capacities and available consultation hours to central appointment services.
- The centralized appointment services, once they receive the reported free treatment capacities from psychotherapists, will be responsible for allocating these slots efficiently and promptly to patients in need, with the goal of reducing long wait times and improving mental health care in health-and-wellness.
References: [1], [2], [3]
