I have been trying to get an appointment with a Psychiatrist to get a diagnosis for one of my conditions. My housearzt gave me a Vermittlungscode. With that code it was easy to get an appointment (via [116117.de](https://116117.de)) with a psychotherapist but she suggested that I need to immediately see a Psychiatrist and gave me another Vermittlungs code. Unfortunately there are no appointments available with Psychiatrist even with the Vermittlungs code (even on [116117.de](https://116117.de)). I have tried calling everywhere including the Amublanz service at UKE Hamburg. No appointments available until the end of the year. My understanding was that with the Vermittlungscode it would be easier to get an appointment. Is there any other way to get an appointment faster in Germany? I think I have tried all options that I am aware of. I would be extremely thankful for any suggestions or tips.

5 comments

  1. The end of the year is in 2 months. That is fast for German standards. Usually you’d have to wait 6 months or more. There are just too little psychiatrists right now.

  2. Unfortunately it’s always hard to get a therapy place but the pandemic has made that even worse. You could try to go over your health insurance provider and see if they could arrange something otherwise it seems like you have to wait until the end of the year.
    If you are in dire need of help you can request immediate help in statutory care.

  3. You could ask your Krankenkasse, some have a Terminservice where they get an appointment for you. It may be a little further away, but should be within a reasonable time. However, I don’t know if they can guarantee an appointment with a psychiatrist, since those are notoriously overbooked, but it can’t hurt to try.

  4. If the Code is a so called “Dringlichkeitsvermerk” they HAVE to give you an appointment within 4 weeks.
    But they might give you a doctor up to 30km away.
    You might need the form “PTV-11”.
    Look it up, it’s to complicated to explain here.

    Edit:
    If your doctor says, you need therapy right now, they might even have to give you an appointment within 2 weeks.

  5. That was not your initial question, but:

    Psychiatrists often don‘t do thorough diagnostics. They do more of an approximation of a diagnosis as they don‘t have the time – like, interviewing a new patient for 5-20min and guess the most likely diagnosis based on the symptoms a patient reports. Mostly they offer medication, coordinate referrals to hospitals or give sick notices.

    Depending on your condition you would need a psychotherapist, a specialized Ambulanz (for example, for ADHD, autism spectrum disorders or tourette) for a valid ICD 10 diagnosis.

    You could also try Psychotherapeutische Ausbildungsambulanzen.

    If you want to get a psychiatrist appointment anyway and try to get it faster, maybe just show up at their office and try to plead with the receptionist?

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