Under some circumstances, people covered by statutory health insurance who can't find a therapy slot at an approved practice are eligible to get their psychotherapy costs covered in a private practice. This is possible through the "cost reimbursement process" ("Kostenerstattungsverfahren").This option is available if you can show proof that you urgently need psychotherapy and haven't been able to secure a spot at a regular statutory health insurance-approved practice.

This process might seem overwhelming at first, but it can be a viable option to avoid long wait times for therapy. I'm here to walk you through each step of this process in a personal conversation. For those who've been looking for a therapy spot for a while, applying for this reimbursement often doesn't add much extra effort compared to seeking therapy at a regular statutory health insurance practice.

For more detailed information about the cost reimbursement process, you can refer to the guide provided by the German Psychotherapists Chamber.

Privately insured individuals and those eligible for "Beihilfe" subsidies have a right to reimbursement for psychotherapy according to their individual contract. The exact amount of cost coverage and the number of sessions that are reimbursed can vary greatly from contract to contract.
Therefore, it is advisable to inquire about the specific modalities of cost coverage with the respective "Behilfe" office or private insurance before starting therapy.

If your insurance is not covering all costs, you may be able to deduct the remainder of costs covered by yourself from your taxes as an 'extraordinary expense,' provided they exceed your individual reasonable burden limit. This reasonable personal contribution typically depends on your total income, marital status, and the number of children you have.

Patients also have the option to self-fund their psychotherapy.
This can offer benefits like shorter waiting times, as there's no need to go through the insurance application process, and it ensures that no information needs to be shared with health insurance companies.

As a self-payer, you may be able to deduct the costs of psychotherapy from your taxes as an 'extraordinary expense,' provided they exceed your individual reasonable burden limit. This reasonable personal contribution typically depends on your total income, marital status, and the number of children you have.

In addition to these three options, there are other special cases in which the costs for psychotherapy can be covered. This includes cost coverage through accident insurance funds, selective contracts of certain health insurance companies, or occupation-specific regulations of the Bundeswehr and Federal Police. If you fall under one of these or other specific regulations, please feel free to contact me for a personal discussion about your individual situation. You can find my contact information under "Practice & Contact".

In the first sessions, the focus is on creating a foundation for shared therapeutic work and simply seeing whether there is a "fit" between us.
You have the space to check for yourself whether you feel safe and understood and have the impression that you can talk openly about your feelings and thoughts.

These sessions are also an opportunity to discuss your current problems and concerns and to see whether these, together with your needs and expectations, fit with the therapeutic methods and approaches I can offer you.

During this phase, a precise diagnosis is made, which serves as our (initial) guide. However, this diagnosis is not set in stone, but can be adjusted in the course of therapy as we gain new insights. Once a diagnosis has been established, we can also set initial therapy goals to be pursued in the further course of psychotherapy.

Beyond this, we clarify important administrative conditions. This includes, for example, the frequency of sessions and clarification of formalities, such as applying for cost coverage from your health insurance provider. We also discuss issues such as confidentiality, non-disclosure and data protection.
These first sessions should help you to make an informed decision as to whether you feel comfortable in the therapeutic relationship with me and whether you are ready to start working with me as a therapist.

In this initial phase of psychotherapy, we intensively work together to explore and understand the background, causes and maintaining factors of your problems. 

Sometimes patients are a little disappointed with these first sessions because there is still little focus on "doing" and directly "improving" their situation. They want to go straight into change instead of talking about the problems and issues themselves.
But we can only identify meaningful next steps for psychotherapy if we understand exactly how your problems developed and why they are persisting. Otherwise we would run the risk of wasting time with methods that do not fit your problems and concerns and are unhelpful or even harmful to you.

In these sessions, we also set short and long-term goals in order to have a clear framework for our work. It is important to me that we discuss your expectations, hopes and possible concerns regarding the next steps of therapy. This exchange is crucial so that we can avoid misunderstandings and make the next steps of therapy as effective as possible.

Depending on the complexity and interaction of your problems, the number of sessions we need may vary. My approach is to always make the therapeutic process and the methods we use as transparent as possible with you and to involve you in the development of further therapy planning so that you understand where we currently are in the process and where the next steps are headed.

In this phase of therapy, the focus is on change. We use various therapeutic techniques that are specifically tailored to your needs and previously discussed problem areas. 
For example, we work together to develop techniques to help you practice new behaviors, break through old thought patterns and find a new way of dealing with stress and symptoms. You can find out more about the methods and strategies that can be used in this process under "Therapeutic Services". Of course, I also encourage you to try out what you have learned in the safe space of therapy in your day-to-day life in order to consolidate the changes and subject them to a "reality check".

As we work on your problem areas, we constantly reflect on the success of the therapeutic exercises and check whether we are on the right track to achieve your previously defined goals. In some cases, the goals themselves or the understanding of how problems developed may change during this phase. Such changes are simply addressed individually in our sessions and adjustments are made to the further psychotherapy plan accordingly.

Internal resistance and other challenges in implementing the changes are also a natural part of this process. Together, we will discuss strategies that you can use to deal with such difficulties and also overcome possible setbacks.

This phase serves to consolidate your progress and enable you to continue your therapeutic work on your problem areas independently. We will also take some time to reflect on the therapy as a whole and appreciate your achievements.

Together we will develop strategies that will help you implement what you have learned even more effectively in your everyday life and anticipate future challenges and master them independently. Our aim is for you to increasingly perceive yourself as your own therapist and learn to deal with challenges and setbacks on your own. 
I often say: My most important task in our therapy is to make myself obsolete.

While we are making plans for your time after therapy, we will also discuss what external resources and support are available to you. We see leaving therapy as an important transition that needs to be consciously experienced and managed. It is also natural to experience mixed feelings at this time, as the end of psychotherapy often marks the end of an important period in your life. We give these feelings space during these sessions and reflect on them.

The closing process should provide you with a solid basis for the future and strengthen your confidence that you are well prepared to continue on your own path.