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Addressing Long Waiting Times for Psychotherapy Services in Berlin
In recent years, mental illnesses have emerged as a significant health challenge, according to the association. This issue has gained attention, with the association's board adopting a position paper on the matter, as initially reported by the editorial network Germany (RND).
One of the key proposals in the position paper is a legal claim for suicide prevention in statutory health insurance. This claim includes the provision of short-term consultation hours, treatment spots, and mobile therapy. The association suggests that an appropriate number of consultation hours and half of the treatment spots by psychotherapists should be reported to appointment service centers.
However, patient advocates believe that there is a lack of comprehensive protection in the political debates about suicide prevention. Stefanie Stoff-Ahnis, the deputy head of the association, stated that mentally ill individuals have trouble finding therapy spots. Annually, about every fourth adult is affected by a mental illness, but only a few get an immediate therapy spot. In 2023, the mediation rate for such appointments was 46 percent, according to association figures.
To tackle this issue, the association is calling for psychotherapists to be legally obliged to report free treatment capacities. They also demand faster appointment allocation for individuals in psychotherapy due to long waiting times.
Eugen Brysch, a board member of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, emphasized that severely ill people need tailored, quick offers. He also stated that the legal instruments are not sufficient to bind statutory health insurance associations to their duty to provide care. According to the association, appointment service centers have not been meeting their legal obligation to mediate appointments for psychotherapeutic consultations within four weeks.
Improving access to psychotherapy services is crucial, particularly in light of the high demand and limited supply. To this end, several proposed solutions have been discussed. These include legal obligations for psychotherapists to offer appointments via appointment service centers, the establishment of appointment service centers as intermediaries, and the provision of consultation hours and support points.
Though specific statistics for Berlin were not detailed in the search results, the general context of long waiting times in medical specialties in Germany is evidenced by national data showing average waiting times of several months up to a year for some specialties. The introduction of appointment service centers and legal mandates for psychotherapist participation are part of governmental steps aimed at mitigating these issues.
In summary, long waiting times stem from demand outstripping supply, and improvements rely on regulatory measures requiring psychotherapists to cooperate with centralized appointment systems alongside expanding consultation offerings to improve access for mentally ill individuals in Berlin. The German Foundation for Patient Protection, among others, is demanding a legal claim for suicide prevention, highlighting the urgency of addressing this issue.
[1] Source: Association's position paper on mental health challenges [2] Source: German government data on average waiting times in medical specialties [3] Source: Freie Universität Berlin's open consultation or support points for preliminary guidance and social counseling
- To extend the reach of health-and-wellness services, it's crucial to implement legal obligations for psychotherapists in Berlin to report free treatment capacities, as proposed by the association, promoting faster appointment allocation for those in need of mental-health therapies-and-treatments.
- In light of the increasing demand for mental-health services, the association advocates for the implementation of appointment service centers as intermediaries and the provision of consultation hours and support points, aiming to bridge the gap between the demand for and supply of psychotherapy services in Berlin.
