How Much Does Therapy Cost in Germany in 2026?

Under the Psychotherapy Directive (Psychotherapie-Richtlinie) of the Federal Joint Committee, statutory health insurers in Germany bear the cost of the psychotherapy it covers¹. If you pay privately, the Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists lists €67.03 at 2.3 times the single rate for each completed 25 minutes of short-term therapy². Below: what insurance covers, the waiting limits, how to claim a private practice's bill back, and where to call now.

What statutory insurance covers

You need no referral for psychotherapy³. The first step is always a psychotherapeutic consultation (Sprechstunde), to which patients are entitled³. Adults can have up to six consultations of at least 25 minutes per episode of illness, and children and young people up to ten¹. At least 50 minutes of consultation must come before any further treatment¹.

In an acute crisis, acute treatment (Akutbehandlung) can begin straight after the consultation, and it needs no application to the insurer³. It runs in units of at least 25 minutes, up to 24 times per episode of illness¹.

A longer course begins with two to four trial sessions (probatorische Sitzungen) of 50 minutes each¹. Short-term therapy comes in two steps of up to 12 hours of individual therapy each, and each step needs an application¹.

For adults, insurers approve long-term behavioural therapy in steps of up to 60 hours, to a ceiling of 80¹. They approve psychodynamic therapy (tiefenpsychologisch fundierte Psychotherapie) for adults in steps of up to 60 hours of individual therapy, to a ceiling of 100¹. They approve analytic therapy for adults in steps of up to 160 hours of individual therapy, to a ceiling of 300¹.

How soon you must be offered an appointment

The appointment service of the Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztliche Vereinigungen) helps you find a psychotherapy appointment on 116117 or online³. It must arrange an appointment within a week, at most four weeks ahead, or at most two weeks ahead for acute treatment³. If it cannot, it must find you an appointment at a hospital or a hospital outpatient clinic within a further week³.

Section 75 of the Social Code, Book V (Sozialgesetzbuch Fünftes Buch, SGB V) sets the same limit in law: the wait for acute psychotherapeutic treatment must not exceed two weeks⁴.

If no covered place is free: Kostenerstattung

Under section 13(3) of the SGB V, if your insurer could not provide an urgent treatment in time, it must refund the cost of a necessary treatment you arranged yourself, in the amount incurred⁵. For treatment by a psychotherapist, the refund applies only if that psychotherapist meets the requirements of section 95c⁵.

The Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists sets out the steps for people who cannot find a psychotherapist who bills statutory insurance⁶. If the psychotherapist you see in a consultation has no free place, you get a written note at the end of it saying which treatment the psychotherapist recommends⁶. Next, ask several psychotherapists who bill statutory insurance whether they can start soon, and keep a log of each request with the name, the date and time, and the wait quoted⁶. If at least three to five say they cannot start soon, you may turn to a private practice⁶. A private practice that can start soon should confirm this in writing, and the chamber advises asking whether its psychotherapist is qualified in a method the directive recognises⁶. Then apply to your insurer for outpatient psychotherapy and Kostenerstattung under section 13(3) SGB V, enclosing the consultation note, the log and the private practice's confirmation⁶.

Paying privately

The fees of psychological psychotherapists follow the Fee Schedule for Physicians (Gebührenordnung für Ärzte, GOÄ)⁷. Their own fee schedule sets that rule: the Fee Schedule for Psychological Psychotherapists and Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists (Gebührenordnung für Psychologische Psychotherapeuten und Kinder- und Jugendlichenpsychotherapeuten, GOP)⁷.

Under the GOÄ, a fee normally lies between the single rate and 2.3 times the rate⁸. A fee above 2.3 times needs a reason: the difficulty or time of the service, or the circumstances of the work⁸.

For a consultation, acute treatment or short-term therapy, the Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists lists €29.14 at the single rate and €67.03 at 2.3 times, for each completed 25 minutes². Those figures follow joint billing recommendations in force since 1 July 2024².

Who may use the title psychotherapist

Under the Psychotherapists Act (Psychotherapeutengesetz, PsychThG), practising psychotherapy under the title Psychotherapeutin or Psychotherapeut requires a licence to practise (Approbation)⁹. Apart from doctors and psychological and child and adolescent psychotherapists, no one else may use that title⁹. Ask anyone using another title which qualification they hold.

If you need someone now

In a life-threatening emergency, call the emergency number 112¹⁰. The 116117 line answers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but it is not for life-threatening emergencies¹⁰.

The Telefonseelsorge answers on 0800 1110111, 0800 1110222 or 116 123, around the clock, including Sundays and public holidays¹¹. Calls to the Telefonseelsorge are free of charge¹¹.

Sources

1. [1] Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss (Federal Joint Committee), Psychotherapie-Richtlinie (Psychotherapy Directive), as last amended on 19 March 2026, in force from 17 June 2026: sections 1, 11, 12, 13, 29 and 30.
2. [2] Bundespsychotherapeutenkammer (Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists), Übersicht Analogabrechnungen zur Erbringung neuer psychotherapeutischer Leistungen, overview as of January 2025: the rates for the consultation, acute treatment and short-term therapy.
3. [3] Kassenärztliche Vereinigungen and Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung, 116117: Psychotherapie: referral, the consultation, acute treatment and the appointment service's time limits.
4. [4] Sozialgesetzbuch (SGB) Fünftes Buch, § 75 (Social Code, Book V, 1988, as amended): the wait for acute psychotherapeutic treatment.
5. [5] Sozialgesetzbuch (SGB) Fünftes Buch, § 13 (Social Code, Book V, 1988, as amended): Kostenerstattung under subsection 3.
6. [6] Bundespsychotherapeutenkammer, patient information on Kostenerstattung, published with the chamber's materials of May 2017 and linked by the Psychotherapeutenkammer Nordrhein-Westfalen: the steps of an application.
7. [7] Gebührenordnung für Psychologische Psychotherapeuten und Kinder- und Jugendlichenpsychotherapeuten (GOP), § 1 (Fee Schedule for Psychological Psychotherapists and Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists, 2000).
8. [8] Gebührenordnung für Ärzte (GOÄ), § 5 (Fee Schedule for Physicians, 1982, as published in 1996): how a fee is set.
9. [9] Psychotherapeutengesetz (PsychThG), § 1 (Psychotherapists Act, 2019): the protected title.
10. [10] Kassenärztliche Vereinigungen and Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung, 116117 home page: the line's hours and the emergency number 112.
11. [11] TelefonSeelsorge Deutschland, Telefon: the numbers, the hours and the cost of a call.

Reviewed November 2026. Entitlements and time limits are from the directive, the statutes and the bodies that run the system; private rates are as the Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists prints them.