[Waiting Times for Psychotherapy - A Differentiated Analysis of the Individual Treatment Phases]

Waiting times for the start of psychotherapy remain long on average. However, actual waiting times for the individual phases of the psychotherapeutic treatment process are not usually differentiated. Furthermore, distortions of the average values due to outliers are rarely taken into account.

A survey of 132 psychotherapy practices in Berlin was conducted to assess waiting times for the individual phases of psychotherapy for patients who had not yet been in contact with a psychotherapy practice. The waiting times were recorded for the period from initial inquiry to the first consultation session, from the consultation session to the first trial (probationary) session, and from the last trial session to the start of guideline-based psychotherapy.

The data on waiting times were all non-normally distributed. The average waiting time between inquiry and the first consultation was 4.5 weeks, but the median was only 2 weeks, with 71% of practices reporting waiting times of less than 4 weeks. The average waiting time between the consultation and the first trial session was 5.9 weeks, with a median also of just 2 weeks; 67% waited less than 4 weeks. The waiting time between the last trial session and the start of guideline-based psychotherapy was short, with a mean of 2.5 weeks and a median of only 1 week.

The relevant waiting times for patients who have not yet contacted a psychotherapy practice - from inquiry to the first consultation and from the consultation to the first trial session - are significantly shorter for many patients than the averages suggest. However, too many patients still wait more than 4 weeks in both of these phases of the treatment process.