Is it safe to seek Therapy in Germany?

33 comments

1. Of course it’s safe. Of course they can’t tell anyone anything barring very specific situations, generally if someone’s life is in danger.

   You give them your health insurance card. Of course they’ll know who you are.

2. The rules are relatively strict and no proper therapist would leak stuff.

   I would suggest contacting your health insurance provider, as they only cover some therapists. Furthermore, it’s sometimes hard to get an appointment, they might be able to help with that.

3. I go to a therapist in germany, and just do it .

   it will help you and yes, it is safe

4. There is one simple way to avoid that. Just search for the therapist you feel comfortable with call them and tell them you want to be treated as a „Selbstzahler“ so they don’t need your health insurance card then and do not submit the ICD code to your health insurance company in order to request the charges. And you’ll fing a therapy place WAY faster then under normal circumstances. You normally pay between 80-130 euros for one session. And no one beside of you has access to your diagnosis.

5. Like doctors they have really strict rules about non disclosure of patients information. I mean especially with your therapist there should be trust and a safe space for you to be able to open up and get help.
   So don’t hesitate and try to find a therapist that is available and you feel comfortable with.
   Congratulations on seeking help. That’s the first step to get better!

6. They can’t share anything about you. But you should check if you can find a Muslim/Immigrants friendly therapist like LGBT people would do with checking for LGBT friendly doctors. Like everywhere there are racist etc, they will still have to treat you but won’t be really invested into it.

7. In what country do therapists dare to leak shit? That sounds absolutely horrible. Im half chinese and even in a country so deeply intertwined with corruption no doc there would give out someones personal info.

   Unless you were acting against the ccp ofc. Then they’ll have no Mercy.

8. Good thing youre insured with TK, because they will also pay for private therapists under certain circumstances (for example you tried finding therapists over 116117 and couldnt get any appointments at all, which could be likely). Youd have to ask them for details tho, Im just currently in almost the same situation as you.

9. You can also try and find a therapist who speaks English (or whatever other language you’d like) through [https://complicated.life/](https://complicated.life/) I found mine on there and you can interact with/talk to therapists through the platform. (Great if you’re anxious about talking over the phone in order to set up an appointment)

10. [deleted]

11. Everything you disclose to any medical professional (Doctors, Nurses, Therapists, …) stays with them, they are not allowed to give any information about their patients to a third party.

12. He can not leak your secrets. The only exception I know is if you tell him about a criminal act, like killing someone, your are planing to do in the near future he is allowed to take action to protect the life of others, like telling the police. If it already happend in the past he is not allowed to tell anyone.

13. Legally, professional psychologists (among multiple other professions) are required to keep your secrets, or they could go to jail for a year.

    https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stgb/__203.html

14. Afaik the doctors can’t share these informations, they have an oath to keep and if they do, you should report to the Ärztekammer. You’re also covered by the data protection laws.

    Someone I know once told me that certain professions have a strong stigma against mental health help, but this is only a concern if you take more than 6 weeks of sick leave and you get a sick leave from psychiatrist, not a psychotherapist (they can’t issue sick note afaik). I couldn’t find anything about this online, but I think they meant when someone has to go to Krisendienst and work on certain professions that this could be a risk to the society like police, emergency services etc. If anyone knows about this I’d appreciate.

    But OP, rest assured they won’t leak what you discuss

15. There’s something shady regarding being diagnosed with something (e.g. depression) and wanting to work as a teacher. I don’t know the details so I suggest you get a better source of information

16. Edit: I wanted to add that you can be proud of yourself for asking for help. I understand it’s hard to get there but you are doing the right thing. Don’t give up trying to get the professional help you feel you need.

    Getting a timely appointment with a therapist (Psychotherapeut) can be a longer process as many offices are completely full but you can usually list yourself there with longer wait times.

    Depending on the urgency you can also talk to your doctor and ask them to give you a prescription for “Ergotherapie”. They are not the same as a “Psychotherapeut” but they can support you with your mental wellness and help find solutions. It might be a bit easier to get a therapy place there.
    It most likely (depending on the severity of your mental health) won’t give the same level of therapeutic intervention but can help get you along during longer therapy wait times.

    On top of that bigger towns or cities often offer a KIZ (Kriseninterventionszentrum). As far as I remember they are a short time intervention service with trained health professionals as well. Getting in contact with them might help you get medication if needed. At least the ones I knew also had psychiatrists working with them for that purpose.

    Most importantly none of them are allowed to tell anyone you don’t want about your struggles. They are there to help you in the first place.

17. Yes, it is. Been there, done that a couple of times. Most therapists accept all insurances, so your problem is finding a suitable one, for example one that can do the therapy in English, that has resources to take new patients. Covid has made the mental health problems bigger, so the wait times are even longer than before.

18. Yes. They are legally required to not say anything to anyone

19. A therapist is not allowed to share your secrets because of the Schweigepflicht. Only if you are an immediate threat for the life of someone, they are allowed to tell the police. The Schweigepflicht even goes further than your life. Even after your death, the therapist has to keep everything a secret. One thing is important here, the therapist can seek help from another therapist if they need advice on your case, but they would not speak about you directly.

20. You can even look for therapists who specialize in your language. For example I am searching aswell currently and found several therapists, who specifically provide for people with muslim/arab background.

21. No information to add, but I hope you get the help and start feeling better!

22. Therapists will not leak your personal information unless it’s a very dire case (which isn’t yours). German laws are very strict and healthcare professional tread with alot of caution to not get into fire over anything because it will lead to revoking of license.

    That being said, finding a therapist, specially as a foreigner is a long process, so I will suggest you to have patience. There is not much choice but if you can, try to look for a therapist with similar background and who speaks language you are comfortable in.

    I hope you feel better soon.

23. Let me tell you something about medical confidentiality in Germany. It’s not uncommon for girls starting age 14 to get the Pill prescribed from their gyno. Without knowledge of the parents. This is considered a good thing.

24. >It’s just that I am aware that there are ‘biases’ against ‘Muslim background’ people like me. While a white person van be viewed as Depressed/struggling with mental health, I might be viewed as Mentally unstable/threat

    You can rest assured, that is not true at all. It’s just in your head and maybe media influenced you to think like that. In reality that is not the case, so just look for a therapist like everyone else does too.

    And no i don’t think they are legally allowed to leak any of your secrets, do not worry.

    You are already struggling enough mentally, don’t make it worse for yourself with imaginary problems like your skin color or leaking secrets.

25. Asalamulaykum brother or sister, while I don’t have anything to contribute in terms of facts about this topic; I appreciate you asking this question. I have been thinking about this too.

26. OP, glad you are seeking support.

    Your worries are normal in the sense of them being common, there can be a lot of shame and worry in opening up about your struggles. Given that you have a different background even more so. So don’t let anyone here tell you your worries are baseless, they are just part of what’s going on with you right now. Some people don’t realize how difficult it can be when you don’t share the same cultural background and that’s on them, not on you!

    That said, psychologists have strict policies on protecting your privacy. In theory, they should also work without bias. This is of course not always the case. You can also look for therapists that shares your background or check their profile for having experience with different backgrounds.

    And most importantly, don’t stay with a therapist that you do not feel comfortable with. Your progress depends on the relationship and trust you have with them and this is on them to give you that trust. If you feel misunderstood in the getting-to-know-sessions, dare to seek another one. Of course this is draining, but the most important thing is that you get the support you need and deserve.

    Wishing the best to you!

27. > It’s just that I am aware that there are ‘biases’ against ‘Muslim background’ people like me. While a white person van be viewed as Depressed/struggling with mental health, I might be viewed as Mentally unstable/threat

    I have often found that people don’t care enough about you to draw random conclusions about you. Unless you espouse hideous views, no one actually cares about your identity, people usually have better things to care about.

    I am surprised that people like you even consider when seeking help.

    PS: I do hope you seek help and I do wish you well, it’s just the white person thing that bothered me.

28. First, I am so, so sorry you’re going through the combination of depression/mental health issues on top of the general struggles that come with immigration, as well as prejudices against people with Muslim backgrounds and immigrants (and especially immigrants with Muslim backgrounds). It’s a lot to deal with and it’s not easy sharing these issues with others and reaching out for help and advice.

    To answer your question: Your therapist absolutely is not allowed to and will not share the content of your therapy sessions with others. I asked my German therapist this exact question. He said that the only way a therapist would have to divulge any information about you is if you VERY openly and obviously threatened to harm others. We’re not talking about admitting to the therapist that you feel like you’d be perceived as a threat. I mean that you’d have to say something like “I’m planning to shoot up a train station”. Clearly, you haven’t done anything threatening and wouldn’t. Therefore, to reiterate, you do not have to worry about being open with your therapist. All of this equally applies to psychiatrists, in the case that you need to visit one to be prescribed medication. I asked my psychiatrist too, same answer.

    Furthermore: visiting a therapist and/or a psychiatrist is in no way going to affect your residence status. To give you an example, I was diagnosed a few years ago with psychotic major depression. In addition to more textbook-depression symptoms, I had delusions that I was being pursued by the police, German customs, and my original country’s government (I’m an immigrant as well). I was convinced I was a threat, and on more than one occasion checked myself into the emergency psychiatric hospital, telling the doctors there that they needed to hide me from any authority figures because they were planning to kill me or detain me indefinitely. My therapist was very aware of these issues, very understanding and never told anyone about them. That was three years ago, and a couple months ago I received permanent residency. It was never an issue with the immigration office.

    To be completely open, I am admittedly white, female and not Muslim. However, I know multiple colleagues who are male Muslim immigrants who visited therapists for various reasons, including depression. They also have their permanent residency and are feeling much better as a result of seeking treatment.

    The realistic concerns are:

    * It may take a VERY long time to find a therapist who accepts public insurance. If you can afford a private therapist, that would be much faster. In the meantime, do not delay searching for a therapist, and if you have any immediate emergencies, check yourself into the local psychiatric Notaufnahme. You don’t need to tell your employer the details, it’ll just look like you were taking sick leave.
    * Although the immigration office, police/legal authorities and your therapist will not hold anything against you regarding mental health, employers tend to still be less sympathetic towards mental health as opposed to physical health issues. Sadly, it’s better to not be too open about your mental health in the workplace, and definitely don’t share your medical details with your boss. You’re not required to anyway, in general.

    Hopefully this helps you feel more secure about finding help, but if you need extra reassurance or just to talk, feel free to reach out. You’ve got this, and many people are experiencing similar struggles and are able to establish a stable life here. If you are in Potsdam, I can give you more specific information regarding where to seek treatment.

29. The only exception known to me would be in the case that you sign a waiver for sth. like acorporate employed therapeut or doctor. Then they are no longer bound by their obligation of secrecy.

30. Reading between the lines it sounds like you may be in an acute situation. If that is indeed the case, please do seek out help as soon as possible. If you feel you are losing control, please go to a psychiatric hospital and tell them that you are desperate. They will have your best interests at heart. Please don’t put off getting help out of fear that your trust may be abused or that your carers may be racist. It’s not impossible, but it is unlikely to be the case. It can be difficult finding the right help, but you are too important not to prioritise looking out for yourself. Best of luck.

31. > Is it safe to seek Therapy in Germany?

    Yes.

32. If you’re insured in Germany, just get a Muslim therapist: [https://www.therapie.de](https://www.therapie.de).

33. I’m a student myself, and I’m not from Europe, non-white and I’m not Muslim and I have similar concerns. Some rules which apply to Germans might not apply to you, when shtf, like for example if you were involved in a case where a couple of white Germans beat you up, the police would not file a case against you, even if you got your country’s embassy involved and even your consular folks can’t do anything because it’s not their jurisdiction and police have a lot of power here. This has happened to Indians and I’m an Indian.

    So, I understand your fears.

    However, I hope you are doing well, and you are about to achieve whatever you aim for. I don’t understand one thing “I am struggling a lot mentally with fulfilling my goals and stuff”, you are repeating this a lot, in the comment section.

    Seems like you are in fear, even this post seems like you fear being judged and in comment section you mentioned Auslaenderbehorde, because you fear it might impact your visa/immigration status.

    I understand this fear, maybe your parents back home don’t support you emotionally that you have to face fears at home? I don’t think you have to answer to this, but ask yourself. You are basically alone in this country and it’s completely valid to have fear/anxiety on daily basis, but as an adult, you should probably realize that you are only in control of what you are able to control, say for example, if you have exams or you have to perform some tasks, it’s on based on your preparation and not external factor like who grades you or judges you.

    All I mean to say is, take charge of minor things which you can control, there are many things which you can’t control and fear will not make it better.

    A Psychotherapist can take your information, and treat you, but what you fear is them using it against you, it shows that you also have problems with trust. I understand this too. Fear and lack of trust drives you, and you see these as obstacles. Trust is definitely earned, you can go and go to the therapist and talk to them about trust first before even opening about your problems.

    I see a lack of compassion in the comment section because a lot of healthy people don’t understand situations of people are in, because they were never immigrant, they were never brown, they were never isolated(perhaps, they are somehow used to it, or have other ways to cope).

    And so your best choice would be to take a step forward to trust and question the integrity of people. Because you also somehow misinterpret people in the comment section, thinking they are judging you or you can’t trust them somehow. The first step towards trust is to take action which defy your own fear, trust issues, and accepting judgement.

    You are actually better off seeing a psychiatrist. And in case you fear that seeing a psychiatrist would determine your future status of residency, then your feelings are valid here, but what happens if you don’t achieve what you don’t set out to achieve, it’s not the end of the world.