[Development of outpatient psychotherapeutic care in Saxony]

The care of mentally ill people should be carried out in a timely, needs-based and community-based manner. The structure of the outpatient care is a cornerstone in achieving this goal. Against this background, this study presents the development of psychotherapeutic care in Saxony.

Data on outpatient psychotherapy between 2014 and 2023 from the medical register of the Saxony Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians were retrospectively evaluated and mapped using geodata analyses. Publicly available data from the Saxony geodatabase were used to analyze distances between local districts in Saxony and the private practices.

The number of psychotherapists in private practice increased between 2014 and 2023, particularly in rural regions. The number of psychotherapists for adults increased from 761 to 1224. In 2023 all psychotherapeutic practices for adults were within 20 km of all districts in Saxony so that the provision of care improved with respect to the spatial coverage. In contrast, the availability of pediatric and adolescent psychotherapists and specialists in the child and adolescent sector as well as for adults has improved only slightly.

The number of practices for psychotherapy has improved in urban and rural areas; however, there is a lack of data to reliably assess the coverage of needs. An analysis of the need for psychotherapeutic treatment is therefore urgently required.