At the beginning of psychotherapy – i.e. before an application is made for the assumption of costs – there are psychotherapeutic consultation hours (up to 3 sessions) and probatory sessions (up to 4 sessions), in which:

• we get to know each other and check the personal requirements for working together
• the formal framework conditions are discussed and open questions are clarified
• Diagnostic clarification (“Which problem is there, when and to what extent?”, “What is the diagnosis?”) and the results are discussed with the patient
• we reach an agreement on possible therapy goals
• a therapy plan with suggestions for a specific therapeutic approach (or with suggestions for alternative treatment options) will be set up.

At the end of the probatory sessions at the latest, we will discuss whether you would like to start psychotherapy and whether we will submit an application for the costs to be covered. The actual psychotherapy then begins with the approval of the cost bearers (if you pay yourself, the latter is not necessary and an individual agreement is made on the provisional number of sessions).

The duration of psychotherapy as a whole depends on the type and severity of the problem. For orientation: in statutory health insurance, short-term therapy comprises 24 (12+12) sessions, if there is still a need, long-term therapy can be extended to up to 36 sessions, whereby up to 20 additional hours can be requested in individual cases (a total of 80 sessions could therefore involve long-term therapy). In the case of those with statutory health insurance, the health insurance usually covers the full costs. The number of services covered by private insurance depends on what types of conditions you agreed on with your insurance or with us.