General information for parents. It cannot replace an assessment by a doctor or psychotherapist. If a life is in danger, call 112.
Waiting for a therapy place: what you can do
A waiting list on its own is no plan yet. Some practices give you a date, many say “call again in three months”. In that time there are more options than most parents know about.
The appointment service 116 117 (Terminservicestelle)
Call 116 117 or book at 116117.de. The service has to arrange a Sprechstunde within four weeks. After the Sprechstunde it helps again: with acute treatment within two weeks, and with trial sessions within about five weeks if the PTV 11 form says that therapy is needed soon (zeitnah erforderlich). Have the form and the code on it ready when you call.
One limit: the service sends you to whichever practice has a free slot, sometimes far away. It cannot promise that this practice will take your child on for a full therapy later.
Acute treatment (Akutbehandlung)
When things cannot wait, a therapist can start right after the Sprechstunde without an application to the insurer: up to 24 units of 25 minutes. Ask about it directly in the Sprechstunde.
Keep a list of every call
Write down every contact: date, time, practice, who you spoke to, the answer, the expected waiting time. This list of refusals (Absagenliste) is your evidence if you apply for cost reimbursement later. Practices that answer by email give you written proof.
Call practices with a waiting list again every four to six weeks. One sentence is enough: „Ich wollte nachfragen, ob sich auf der Warteliste etwas bewegt hat.“
Cost reimbursement: a private practice paid by your insurer
If no practice with a statutory licence (Kassensitz) can treat your child within a reasonable time, the statutory insurer may have to pay a licensed therapist in private practice. This is called Kostenerstattung under § 13 Abs. 3 SGB V. No law sets a fixed number of refusals. Insurers usually ask for:
- the PTV 11 form from the Sprechstunde, ideally marked as urgent,
- your Absagenliste,
- proof that you contacted 116 117,
- a confirmation from the private practice that it has a place, with the planned start date,
- a written application before the therapy begins.
If the insurer says no
You can lodge an objection (Widerspruch) in writing within one month of receiving the decision letter. Keep the letter and its envelope date. A short letter with your Absagenliste attached is enough to start.
Free help now: Erziehungsberatungsstelle
Family counselling centres (Erziehungsberatungsstelle) exist in almost every town. They are free, need no insurance card and no diagnosis, and you can contact them yourself. Psychologists and social workers see parents, children or the whole family, often sooner than a therapy practice. They do not replace psychotherapy. They can give you a plan for the coming weeks. Some work in other languages or with interpreters, so ask when you call.
At home in the meantime
- Keep the day predictable: the same times for getting up, meals and bed.
- Take pressure out of one area. If mornings are a fight, prepare bag and clothes the evening before.
- Ten minutes a day with your child, no phones, your child chooses what you do.
- Keep the notes going. They become your report for the first session.
- Your own exhaustion counts too. The parents’ helpline (Elterntelefon) on 0800 111 0 550 is free and anonymous.
If things get worse while you wait
Do not wait for the list. Medical on-call service: 116 117. Children and teenagers can call 116 111 (Nummer gegen Kummer). Telephone counselling, also for parents: 0800 111 0 111. If a life is in danger: 112. The child and adolescent psychiatry clinic (Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie) in your region takes emergencies at any hour.
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