Children and young people with mental health problems wait months for a place in therapy. Health Minister Lauterbach had actually promised a remedy. Why doesn’t this work?
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach keeps repeating a promise: the health of children and young people should have priority. Because they would have suffered the most from the measures against the corona pandemic.
This is also shown by the increasing number of mental illnesses. Depression, anxiety and eating disorders have increased in the wake of the pandemic.
Half a year waiting time
Many children do not get the help they need. Because there are no therapy places, criticizes the Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists. Cornelia Metge is a member of the board there and herself a psychotherapist for children and young people. In her practice in Zschopau, Saxony, she has a long waiting list. She often has to ask families to be patient. “It’s also very difficult for us,” says the therapist. “If you know there’s an emergency, then you don’t want to wait six months or nine months for help, you want to help right away.”
That’s why she tries at least to offer everyone an initial consultation as quickly as possible. On average, however, children in Germany wait several months for their actual place in therapy. That can intensify the psychological problems or even make them chronic, explains Metge: “Development steps that have been missed once cannot be made up for quickly.” The corona pandemic has also clearly shown this.
Professional association calls for 1,600 cash register seats more
There is no shortage of psychotherapists. However, if you want to open your own practice and bill the health insurance companies, you need permission to do so. However, the number of these so-called cash register seats is limited.
Lauterbach announced in February that there should be more special requirements approvals. This should allow more psychotherapists to set up their own practice if they devote themselves to particularly seriously ill children.
However, these special needs approvals must be applied for separately from the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in the respective federal state. The Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists criticizes that this is tedious and not a quick solution for regular care. The professional association is generally demanding more cash register seats for practices: there would be a total of 1,600 such seats, not just for children and young people, especially in rural and structurally weak regions.
FDP puts pressure on the SPD minister
Where exactly what is needed is to be determined by a new requirement plan. SPD Minister Lauterbach wants to take care of the legal regulation in the coming year. But he is under pressure from his own coalition. Kristine Lütke from the FDP thinks it is too late if, as announced, a draft law is not ready until the second half of 2024. In the meantime, she suggests promoting digital aids: apps or online offers for mental health. This cannot replace therapy, but at least help to bridge the waiting time.
Above all, more therapy places are needed, demands Cornelia Metge. The psychotherapist knows the cases in which children and young people withdraw because of psychological problems and can no longer keep up at school. But it’s not just educational success that suffers, she emphasizes: “Only healthy children and young people can become healthy adults.”
It is all the more important that mental illnesses are treated as early as possible. Metge is therefore urging the government to act quickly and Health Minister Lauterbach to keep his promise to focus on children’s health.