[Outpatient Psychotherapy Before and After the Reform of the Psychotherapy Directive of 2017: Data from Practices...

The reform of the German psychotherapy directive in 2017 resulted in several changes for non-hospital-based psychotherapists. We examined whether patients received psychotherapy following their initial consultation more frequently after the reform than before.

Using records from psychotherapy practices in a retrospective cohort study, we investigated the frequency of a psychotherapy after the patients' initial consultation. We compared a time frame of three years before and after the reform. A potential association between reform and psychotherapy received was analysed via logistic regression.

Our analysis comprised 1548 records from 9 psychotherapy practices, consisting of 755 records before and 793 records after the reform. Before the reform, 40% (n=303) of the patients who had an initial consultation went on to receive psychotherapy. After the reform, 46% (n=360) of initial consultations were followed by psychotherapy (including acute care). The logistic regression analysis showed a 36% increased probability of receiving psychotherapy after an initial consultation after the reform in comparison to before the reform (odds ratio 1.36 after vs. before reform, 95% confidence interval 1.09 - 1.68).

Our results indicate a higher chance of receiving psychotherapy after an initial consultation after the reform compared to before the reform. Our data do not contain information as to whether the absolute number of psychotherapy appointments in the practices increased after the reform.