How does outpatient psychotherapy work?
Trial Sessions:
- Quantity: Up to 3 sessions of 50 minutes each
- Clarification whether a psychotherapeutic treatment at our outpatient clinic is suitable and necessary for you and your concerns
- Requirement: A valid health insurance and health insurance card
Diagnostic Sessions (Probatory)
- Quantity: 2 to 4 sessions of 50 minutes each
- Extensive personal interview and diagnostics
- Development of therapy goals and treatment priorities
- Getting to know each other before therapy starts
Applying to your health insurer for coverage
- Requirement: Medical support and endorsement of psychotherapy by your general practitioner or specialist (consultative report)
- If necessary, the decision on cost takeover by your insurer will be made based on a report written by your therapist (duration: 2 to 6 weeks)
Treatment Phase
- Usually there are weekly therapy sessions of 50 minutes each.
- Depending on the complexity of the mental disorder, the respective therapy goals and the therapy method, a therapy can take up different lengths of time.
- Supporting individual therapy by group therapy is possible and often very profitable.
Who covers the costs of outpatient psychotherapy?
After you have registered by telephone, a therapist will contact you as soon as a therapy place is available. Then, up to three preliminary consultations take place, the so-called trial sessions (Psychologische Sprechstunden). During these consultations you will have the opportunity to get to know your future therapist. At the same time, a thorough diagnosis will be made and together we will determine whether psychotherapy is the most suitable form of treatment for you, or whether an alternative treatment would be more appropriate in your case. If there is an indication for psychotherapy, the costs are covered by the statutory and private health insurance companies as well as by the state aid.
Statutory health insurance
Following 2 to 4 further trial sessions (probatory sessions), an application for psychotherapy is submitted to your health insurance company. Only the insurance card is required for billing, a referral from the doctor is not necessary.
Private health insurances
Private health insurances and the state aid usually cover the costs of outpatient psychotherapy. However, there is no uniform regulation, but the assumption of costs depends on your insurance conditions. It is therefore advisable to contact your private health insurance or the state aid before starting psychotherapy and to find out about the conditions of cost coverage. The costs are based on the fee schedule for psychotherapists (GOP).
General information on the process of getting psychotherapy are available in English and Turkish language.