Since I run an appointment-based practice, you can only schedule appointments in advance by phone or email.

I respond to emails and voicemail messages as promptly as possible, so that your waiting time is kept to a minimum.

This is a private practice because I am a licensed psychotherapist (Heilpraktikerin für Psychotherapie). This allows you to visit anonymously without worrying about professional or insurance-related consequences. You avoid the paperwork involved with your health insurance company. Furthermore, you can usually begin therapy promptly.

Statutory health insurance (GKV) only covers services provided by physicians or those prescribed by a physician. Services provided by licensed psychotherapists are generally not reimbursed*), except under supplemental insurance.

If you have supplemental insurance for licensed psychotherapists, depending on your plan, reimbursement may be full, partial, or up to an annual maximum amount.

*) Since the introduction of the Psychotherapist Act (1999), statutory health insurance companies can cover therapy with licensed psychotherapists under certain conditions as out-of-network treatment.

The legal basis for this is the German Social Code (SGB V § 13 para. 3).

Section 13, Paragraph 3 of the German Social Code, Book V (SGB V) states:

"If the health insurance fund was unable to provide an urgently needed service in a timely manner or wrongfully denied a service, and the insured incurred costs for obtaining the service themselves, these costs must be reimbursed by the health insurance fund to the extent that the service was necessary."

The aim of the Psychotherapists Act was to achieve comprehensive and sufficient psychotherapeutic care for the population. Long waiting times (usually many months) for medical and psychological psychotherapists contradict this goal.

Waiting times for alternative practitioners of psychotherapy are generally shorter, which allows for a faster start to therapy.

What can you do to begin therapy as soon as possible?

The application for reimbursement must be submitted before the start of therapy. You must provide the following documentation:

Certificate of Medical Need:

Your treating psychiatrist must provide a diagnosis according to ICD-10 and confirm the need for treatment.

Lack of Availability:

More than three unsuccessful treatment requests are unacceptable in terms of the principle of humane medical care. You must document the unavailability of a licensed psychotherapist with your name, address, and the date of your request.

Recognized Psychotherapy Method:

The therapy I use combines elements of systemic therapy, psychoanalytic and depth-psychological approaches, some aspects of various cognitive-behavioral therapy methods, EMDR, as well as other evidence-based methods supported by large-scale scientific studies.

Reasonable Waiting Time:

Waiting times of more than 3 (or 12, see below) months for adults are unacceptable.

Submit these documents, along with an informal letter and the following subject line, to your health insurance provider:

"Application for reimbursement of psychotherapy costs under the German Healing Practitioners Act (Heilpraktikergesetz) pursuant to Section 13 II SGB V"

Upon request, I will provide you with:

My license to practice psychotherapy without a medical degree

Confirmation that psychotherapeutic treatment can begin immediately

The reimbursement form

Other important information...

Experience shows that applications for reimbursement are frequently rejected by statutory health insurance providers. However, an appeal can and should be filed against a rejection notice.

https://www.therapie.de/psyche/info/fragen/wichtigste-fragen/psychotherapie-kostenerstattung/ :

"In regions with a particularly severe shortage of licensed psychological psychotherapists and the resulting unacceptably long waiting times, sometimes up to 12 months, statutory health insurance companies have, in practice, begun to reimburse the costs of psychotherapeutic treatments provided by alternative practitioners of psychotherapy in exceptional cases.

We strongly recommend that individuals with statutory health insurance seeking therapy in regions with such long waiting times for licensed psychological psychotherapists contact their health insurance company in advance to inquire about the specific conditions for reimbursement of costs for treatment by alternative practitioners."

Private health insurance companies, including those offering supplementary health insurance, reimburse the costs of services provided by alternative practitioners, provided this is stipulated in the policy terms. Reimbursement may be full, partial, or up to an annual maximum amount, depending on the specific plan.

What you need to know...

Whether your private health insurance or supplementary health insurance will cover the costs of medically necessary psychotherapy provided by a licensed alternative practitioner specializing in psychotherapy must be clarified in each individual case before therapy begins.

You pay the fee directly to the alternative practitioner (me) upon receipt of the invoice.

As a licensed alternative practitioner, I am unable to bill the health insurance company directly.

The invoice can then be submitted to your health insurance company for reimbursement.

Those eligible for supplementary health insurance should also submit the invoice to their supplementary health insurance provider (Beihilfe).

With arrangements prior to you session, we can agree on your paying in installments. This will be arranged individually.

Please talk to me if you are truly in financial hardship.

Depending on your needs and circumstances, an appointment can last between 50 and 90 minutes. We can agree on a time frame beforehand. Sometimes it might be possible to extend a session spontaneously, if need be.