Costs How the billing works and what costs you can expect
I'm working as a non-medical practitioner for psychotherapy. That means that an official payment by a public German health insurance company is not possible. Thus the client usually has to pay the cost themselves. Alternatively, private health insurances sometimes bear the whole or partial cost for the individual psychotherapy via the ‘non-medical practitioner allowance’ (German: „Heilpraktiker-Zulage“). Please investigate your own insurance situation.
What are the benefits of self-payment in contrast to payments made by the health insurance provider
Anonymity
When treatment is privately-paid, no documentation of personal data and diagnoses are given to official administrations. Such documentation, routinely gathered during therapy paid for by insurance companies, could lead to future issues in terms of working life or in the provision of coverage by other insurance providers.
No long waiting times
Frequently, people have an urgent psychological strain, but cannot access help due to the long waiting times at psychotherapists that have been accredited by the public health system. In the worst case, long waiting times could contribute to emotional distress or make the problem chronic.
Less bureaucracy
When paying privately, you don't have to struggle with a lot of paperwork and bureaucratic processes with the public health insurance provider. Also the coach/therapist has less formalities to handle, this leaves more resources for the actual work.
Free choice of the therapeutic method and the duration
In Germany, psychoanalysis, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and behavioural therapy are the only methods that are paid for by the public health system. When you pay the costs yourself, you can freely choose from a variety of methods, and select the amount and frequency of sessions that best fits your needs.
Tax benefits
Services by non-medical practitioners (for psychotherapy) can, depending on your income, be used as a deductible in your tax declaration. You can find more information about this issue (in German) for instance here (no liability is taken for the accuracy and completeness of the information).
Fees
The fees are charged the following:
| Setting | Duration | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction session for individuals (coaching/supervision/psychotherapy) | 60 minutes | 80,00 EUR |
| Psychotherapy session for individuals | 60 minutes | 100,00 EUR |
| Coaching/supervision session for individuals | 60 minutes | 130,00 EUR |
| Couples coaching session | 60 minutes | 130,00 EUR |
| Couples coaching session (extended) | 90 minutes | 180,00 EUR |