Glossary
Guidance for psychological challenges, viewed through interpersonal relationships as well as individual development, therapies, and therapeutic roles.
Overview Content
Mental & Emotional Distress
Personal Growth & Competencies
Psychotherapies & Methods
The Classical Statutory Modalities
The Humanistic & Mindfulness Therapies
The Integrative & Neurobiologically founded Therapies
Roles & Who's Who
Psychotherapies & Methods
Which psychotherapeutic procedures are scientifically recognised and covered by health insurance?
In Germany, procedures are classified as statutory modalities if they have been evaluated as scientifically recognised and deemed necessary for healthcare provision by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) [g-ba.de]. Currently, there are four recognised statutory therapies:
Analytical Psychotherapy
Systemic Therapy
Depth Psychology-Based Psychotherapy
Behavioural Therapy
Costs are covered by statutory health insurance funds, provided the treatment is conducted by a clinical psychologist or medical doctor who holds a corresponding practitioner licence. The clinical work aligns fundamentally with the S3 guidelines – these are evidence-based expert recommendations for diagnosis and therapy that guarantee treatment according to the latest scientific standards.
How does Analytical Psychotherapy (after Sigmund Freud) view psychological problems?
While depth psychology shines the spotlight on current everyday conflicts, Analytical Psychotherapy (AP) shines a light deep beneath the surface, dedicating itself to the very foundation of the personality. Historically building upon the principles of Sigmund Freud, this approach views psychological symptoms such as chronic anxiety, depression, or profound relationship blocks not as isolated malfunctions, but as the involuntary expression of deeply rooted, unconscious conflicts or damaged psychological structures. Human experience is viewed as a constant, internal conflict between unconscious desires, moral demands, and the harsh realities of the world.
If core emotional needs – such as the drive for independence on one hand and the longing for absolute emotional security on the other – could not be adequately met by the environment during the formative early years of life, deep internal fractures occur. To cope with the resulting psychological pain or anxiety, the psyche activates unconscious defence mechanisms such as repression or projection. While these mechanisms banish the unresolved issue into the unconscious, they permanently bind valuable psychological energy there. If this vulnerable state is later shaken by stress or crises, the protective system collapses. The psychological symptom forces its way to the surface: it is essentially a desperate compromise by the psyche to simultaneously express the hidden conflict and hide it from conscious awareness.
The therapeutic path differs radically from other modalities due to its classical long-term setting: the individual lies on a couch and, through the method of free association, speaks all thoughts, images, memories, and dreams completely uncensored, without looking directly at the therapist. This fosters a conscious, healing return to deeper emotional layers (regression). The most vital tool is the relationship dynamic in the here and now, described through transference and countertransference: unconsciously and involuntarily, the individual projects their old, historical relationship patterns and anxieties onto the analyst. The practitioner uses their own emotional resonance as a fine diagnostic instrument. Through the patient exploration and working through of these relationship dynamics in a secure space, the unconscious, blocking structures are brought to light step by step. They are emotionally re-experienced and permanently resolved through the dependable, corrective relational experience with the analyst.
What is Systemic Therapy, how does the systemic approach work, and what is meant by IFS?
Systemic Therapy offers a completely fresh perspective on what is commonly labelled a psychological disorder or personal deficit. It views the individual not as an isolated island, but as part of a living, interconnected network of relationships, such as a family, a partnership, or a workplace team. A psychological symptom or a profound sense of overwhelm is not understood as a disorder within a single person. Instead, it resembles a warning signal in a finely balanced mobile: if one figure is pulled, the entire system is set in motion. Within this structure, a symptom often serves an unconscious, stabilising function or represents the best possible, albeit painful, attempt to cope with chronic tension in the environment.
Systemic practice firmly moves away from the classical search for a simple cause-and-effect chain in the past. Instead, the focus is directed toward circular causality in the here and now: how do the actions and communication patterns of all parties involved mutually determine, reinforce, and sustain one another? The therapeutic process is characterised by a deep respect for past life achievements. It does not seek to assign blame, but rather searches for the patterns that unnoticeably keep the problem alive. The therapist's stance is defined by strict multi-directed partiality meaning that every perspective within the system is acknowledged and valued equally.
The way of working is visibly vibrant, solution-oriented, and utilises a diverse range of creative methods. A central tool is externalisation, where problems are literally separated from the person and made tangible as an external force true to the maxim by therapists Michael White and David Epston: "The person is not the problem; the problem is the problem". Through circular questioning, participants are invited to adopt the perspective of other system members, which often leads to surprising insights. Sculpting and family constellations make relationship dynamics and emotional distances metaphorically visible within the room, whilst genograms decode multi-generational patterns.
Furthermore, the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model provides a significant modern bridge to the inner world. It applies the principles of systemic family therapy to the human psyche, understanding the mind as a system of various internal parts (such as protectors or wounded sides) that interact with one another. The ultimate goal of Systemic Therapy is always to dismantle rigid labels, activate the hidden resources of the entire network, and open up new, healthier possibilities for action for everyone involved.
What is Depth Psychology-Based Psychotherapy, and how does it differ from Psychoanalysis?
Although Depth Psychology-Based Psychotherapy is based on the theoretical foundations of psychoanalysis, it has developed into an independent, pragmatic therapeutic modality. Whereas classical psychoanalysis aims for a profound restructuring of the entire personality within a high-frequency, regression-promoting couch setting, depth psychology focuses on the timely management of current, acute conflicts in the here and now. The therapeutic setting reflects this difference: sessions usually take place once a week in a seated position (face-to-face). The therapist adopts a significantly more active, structured, and supportive role than the classically abstinent analyst.
The theoretical foundation of this approach assumes that an unconscious conflict underlies current psychological symptoms, such as depression or anxiety. This "current conflict" is usually reactivated by a specific life event (such as a separation, job loss, or chronic overload). However, it stands in a dynamic connection with a "vulnerable background conflict" from the patient's life history. Therapy does not systematically unravel the entire childhood; instead, it specifically examines how old, unconscious relationship patterns and defence mechanisms block present-day experience and behaviour. Alongside these classical conflicts, modern depth psychology also integrates aspects of structural diagnostics to targetedly stabilise deficits in fundamental psychological functions (such as self-perception, interpersonal perception, or affect regulation).
The therapeutic process is consistently conflict-centred and forward-looking. Transference and countertransference are utilised as diagnostic and therapeutic tools, but they are primarily applied to the current therapeutic relationship and the patient's everyday conflicts without forcing a deep regressive neurosis. Through the conscious clarification, confrontation, and interpretation of current conflict dynamics, the patient gains emotional insight into their unconscious processes. This enables the development of more flexible coping strategies and a sustainable reduction in symptoms.
How does Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) work, and what do third-wave methods achieve?
Over the course of a lifetime, the human psyche develops a kind of internal lens through which the world and the self are viewed. When this lens is clouded by negative experiences, everyday situations are automatically evaluated as threatening, wounding, or hopeless. This is precisely where Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) intervenes. It understands psychological distress, such as anxiety or depression, as the result of deeply ingrained, unhelpful thought patterns and behaviours acquired throughout a person's life history. Unlike approaches that search for hidden causes deep within early childhood, CBT looks pragmatically at the here and now, examining exactly what maintains the problem in current daily life.
Thoughts, feelings, and actions constantly influence one another in a continuous feedback loop. If a situation is catastrophised, distressing emotions arise, often resulting in withdrawal or avoidance. This leads to a psychological vicious circle, as the brain is deprived of the opportunity to gather new, positive experiences. CBT breaks this cycle. The therapy is fully transparent, operates collaboratively on equal terms, and follows the guiding principle of "helping people to help themselves" – enabling individuals to actively become experts in their own recovery. To understand how flexibly modern behavioural therapy operates, it helps to look at its development, which has historically progressed through three major waves of innovation.
The first wave: changing behaviour
In the early stages, the modality focused concretely on observable actions. The underlying premise is that anything once learned can also be unlearned. In the case of a phobia, for instance, individuals learn to consciously face their anxiety through what is known as exposure therapy. By remaining in the situation, the nervous system discovers that the anticipated catastrophe does not occur. The anxiety subsides, and the new experience rewrites the old patterns.
The second wave: changing thoughts
It later became apparent that it is not enough to merely modify external actions. How individuals think about things is of paramount importance. The focus has since been on cognitive restructuring: identifying and gently but critically challenging automatic, dysfunctional thoughts. A key tool here is the Socratic dialogue – a skilful method of questioning whereby individuals discover through their own insights where cognitive distortions have crept in, allowing them to replace these with more realistic appraisals.
The third wave: mindfulness, emotions, and acceptance
Modern behavioural therapy goes a step further, acknowledging that certain thoughts and feelings cannot simply be rationalised away or changed. The third wave therefore concentrates on how a person relates to their internal states. Rather than fighting painful emotions, individuals learn to perceive and accept them mindfully. Four highly effective approaches have emerged from this modern movement:
ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
This approach focuses on increasing psychological flexibility. Instead of wasting energy pushing unpleasant feelings away, individuals learn to accept them dispassionately as a part of life (acceptance), whilst consistently aligning their actions with their deeply personal core values (commitment).
DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy)
This approach was specifically designed for individuals who experience an overwhelming rush of emotions (as seen in borderline personality dynamics). DBT combines behavioural techniques with elements of Zen mindfulness. The core focus is a structured skills training programme that provides concrete crisis tools to regulate feelings and safely tolerate extreme emotional tension.
CBASPT
This method specialises in the treatment of chronic depression. Since affected individuals often feel entirely isolated and helpless, CBASP utilises structured situational analyses to help them clearly recognise how their own behaviour impacts those around them in daily life, thus enabling an escape from social isolation.
Schema Therapy
This modality forms an elegant bridge to depth psychology. When core emotional needs in childhood (such as safety, love, and autonomy) are unmet, rigid emotional patterns known as schemas develop. Schema therapy works with these inner parts (such as the vulnerable child or the inner critic) to heal old wounds in the present and sustainably strengthen the healthy adult self.
What is Person-Centred Therapy, and how does the person-centred approach work?
Person-Centred Therapy, often referred to simply as client-centred therapy or talking therapy, is based on a profoundly humanistic view of human nature. At its core is the conviction that every individual possesses an inherent potential for self-actualisation, growth, and positive change. From this perspective, psychological suffering arises when this natural development is blocked by external expectations, judgements, or painful experiences, causing the self-concept to clash with actual, inner feelings.
The therapeutic setting functions as a safe space that gently dissolves these blocks. This occurs intentionally without advice, directives, or expert interpretations from above. Instead, the entire process is carried out by three essential pillars in the therapist's stance: unconditional positive regard for the client as a person, deep empathic understanding, and absolute congruence (genuineness) of the therapist. Within an atmosphere so completely free from judgement, it becomes possible to explore repressed feelings without fear. Trust in one's own impulses returns, and self-esteem is sustainably strengthened.
What is Gestalt Therapy, and what lies at the heart of the treatment?
Gestalt Therapy is a vibrant, experiential approach that focuses radically on the here and now. Psychological problems and blockages are understood within this framework as "unfinished business" or unconscious interruptions of contact with the environment. When old wounds, conflicts, or suppressed feelings from the past have not been fully processed, they linger like incomplete shapes into the present, draining valuable life energy from daily existence. Rather than merely talking about problems abstractly and theoretically, Gestalt therapy invites individuals to make them physically and emotionally felt in the present moment. Work centres on the immediate experience within the therapy room, utilising creative experiments and the conscious awareness of subtle bodily signals. A well-known tool is the "empty chair" technique, where an internal part or a conflict partner is symbolically invited to take a seat, enabling a direct, clarifying dialogue. The objective is to sharpen self-awareness, lovingly reclaim responsibility for one's own actions, and restore inner wholeness.
What is MBCT, and how does mindfulness help with depression?
The MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy) programme can best be described as an internal early-warning system and a protective shield against emotional downward spirals. This approach was specifically developed for individuals who wish to remain stable after recovering from depression. Following a depressive episode, the brain is extremely sensitive: a completely normal, minor dip in mood during the day or a stressful event is often enough to trigger an automatic avalanche of old, destructive rumination and self-doubt. MBCT intervenes precisely at this critical juncture. Through the systematic practice of mindfulness, individuals learn to notice oncoming gloomy thoughts and physical tension early, rather than unconsciously sliding into them. Instead of frantically fighting or trying to rationalise these painful states, individuals learn to adopt an observer's perspective and allow the feelings to simply exist without judgement. This breaks the identification with the pain. Distressing thoughts lose their threat; they are no longer experienced as absolute truths, but as temporary, mental weather events in the mind that arise and may also pass by.
What is Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), and how does it work?
Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) can be understood as a kind of internal compass that helps navigate recurring dead ends in one's own behaviour and relationships. As a modern, integrative approach, it combines the pragmatic tools of behavioural therapy with a deep psychodynamic understanding of one's life history. The core of the therapeutic collaboration involves the shared creation of a visual map: recurring, unconscious relationship roles and blocking behavioural patterns are visually mapped out in the form of shared diagrams. In this way, it quickly and precisely becomes clear where these protective strategies originate and how they unintentionally restrict daily life. Through this vivid visualisation, individuals succeed in halting unconscious automatisms at the decisive moment in everyday life and adopting more flexible, healthier paths of action.
What is Hypnotherapy, and when is it applied?
Hypnotherapy utilises the phenomenon of therapeutic trance to build a bridge to the deep, often untapped layers of consciousness. In daily life, thinking is usually highly rational, controlled, and logical. In a state of gentle trance which feels more like a deep, pleasantly inward focused concentration the critical everyday mind is eased a little into the background. This allows for a more direct and creative dialogue with the unconscious. In this protected state, emotional blocks can be softly loosened, whilst access to hidden, often forgotten personal strengths and resources is unlocked. Hypnotherapy views the unconscious as a rich treasure chest full of creative solutions, actively stimulating the mind's natural self-healing capacities to develop new, relieving perspectives for present life.
What does EMDR stand for, and how does the method work?
EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and denotes a highly effective method for processing and integrating traumatic experiences [emdria.de]. As a specialized approach within trauma therapy, it acts as a catalyst for the mind's natural self-healing capacities. When an individual undergoes a deeply shocking, threatening, or overwhelming event, the brain enters a state of acute, extreme stress. In this alarm mode, the normal processing of experiences can become blocked. The images, sounds, feelings, and physical responses of the incident cannot be fully processed and are frozen within the nervous system, isolated and stagnant. In later daily life, a tiny, subconscious trigger, a certain smell, a noise, or a glance is often enough to reactivate the traumatic experience, causing it to resurface as if the catastrophe were happening all over again in the here and now.
Roles & Who's Who
What qualifies a non-medical practitioner of psychotherapy?
A Psychotherapist (under German Alternative Psychotherapy Act) holds a state-approved licence to practice healthcare, specifically restricted to the field of psychotherapy in accordance with the German Alternative Practitioners Act (Heilpraktikergesetz - HeilprG). Following the successful completion of an official medical assessment by the state health authorities, these practitioners are legally authorised to independently diagnose and treat psychological disorders. They are permitted to apply scientifically recognised modalities, such as Systemic Therapy. Direct billing through statutory health insurance funds is generally not available. Fees are covered either on a self-pay basis, through private health insurance, or via corresponding supplementary insurance policies for alternative health practitioners.
Is a psychologist a psychotherapist?
Psychologists have completed a university degree in psychology, holding either a Diploma or a Master of Science degree. They engage deeply with human experience and behaviour across all areas of life, including science, business, and social structures. However, a degree in psychology alone does not authorise an individual to practice psychotherapy. For this, an additional, state-regulated qualification is required, such as a full licence to practice (Approbation) or a permit under the German Alternative Practitioners Act (Heilpraktikergesetz).
What does a clinical psychologist with a licence to practice do?
A clinical psychologist with a licence to practice (Psychologischer Psychotherapeut) diagnoses and treats psychological disorders using scientifically recognised, non-pharmacological therapeutic modalities. Unlike psychiatrists, they have not completed a medical degree and do not prescribe medication. The requirements for obtaining this full state licence to practice (Approbation) depend on when the university degree was commenced. Those who began their psychology studies on or before 31 August 2020 obtain their licence under the old system via a Diploma or Master’s degree followed by subsequent postgraduate clinical training. For those who commenced their studies on or after 1 September 2020, qualification under the new reformed system occurs directly through a specialized Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, culminating in a licensing examination, which eliminates the need for subsequent postgraduate training. They are authorised to apply one of the legally recognised statutory modalities and generally hold a practitioner licence that enables direct billing through statutory health insurance funds.
What do neurologists and psychiatrists do?
Neurologists are medical doctors who specialise in organic and physical conditions of the nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, or migraines. They investigate and determine whether psychological symptoms stem from a purely physical or organic cause.
Psychiatrists, on the other hand, are specialist medical doctors in psychiatry and psychotherapy. They view psychological distress primarily from a medical perspective, for example, as biochemical processes within the brain. They are legally authorised to prescribe medication (psychotropic drugs) as well as to arrange for clinical hospital admissions.
Is a therapist allowed to offer psychotherapy?
The term "therapist" (Therapeut) alone is not a legally protected professional title in Germany. The treatment of psychological disorders is strictly regulated by law and is exclusively reserved for medical doctors, fully licensed psychotherapists (approbierte Psychotherapeuten), and alternative practitioners (Heilpraktiker). It is therefore advisable for individuals seeking treatment to always check the precise and full professional title of a practitioner.
Sophienstraße 5
80333 Munich