Online therapy: first aid for the soul

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

More posts by Christiane Fux All content is checked by medical journalists.

Waiting for months for therapy? Two psychologists from Berlin found that unbearable. Now they have developed an online therapeutic offer that offers immediate support.

For Kati Bermbach, the realization came on the phone. At the time, the psychologist was working as a research assistant at the Charité in Berlin. Your main task: canceling therapy places. "Every day I had to explain to desperate people that there was no place for them," said Bermbach in an interview with "Until then, I wasn't sure what a huge gap in supply there was."

People with mental illnesses in Germany currently wait an average of three to six months before they can start psychotherapy. This was the result of a survey by the Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists (BPtK). In rural areas in particular, it often looks dark.

The soul has to wait

The crux is: You don't see mental illnesses. If you break your leg, you get help immediately, but a sick soul has to wait. The level of suffering is often enormous. And the risk of the clinical picture becoming solidified is great, because mental illnesses get deeper and deeper in the soul the longer they last. That makes their treatment much harder. It is not uncommon for the patient's condition to worsen - sometimes to the point of suicide. “This situation is unbearable,” says Bermbach.

At a congress in Cambridge, she met a like-minded woman in Nora Blum. While visiting a pub, the two twenties came up with the idea: online therapy that effectively bridges the waiting time. So first aid for the soul. In the meantime, they have developed offers for people with depression, anxiety disorders and eating disorders, but also for those suffering from stress. The two young women christened the project, which has been online for over a year, “Selfapy”.

Homework for the psyche

The procedure used by the psychologists - cognitive behavioral therapy - offers ideal conditions for online applications. It is primarily practically oriented and works through information and tasks that you can work through like a school assignment.

Behavioral therapy also looks into the past to shed light on the present, but above all it's about the here and now. What is it really about the fears and black thoughts that drag me down? How do I get out of the pitfalls? And is everyone really against me?

Fresh air against cloudy thoughts

“I thought the daily protocol was great,” reports Miriam Kerner *, who completed the nine-week program for the treatment of depression. Right at the beginning, she wrote down what she was doing and how she was doing several times a day for a week. "Only then did I notice that there are good moments even on bad days," says the 35-year-old. "Seeing that was very important to me."

Since she found out what is good for her, she has been able to apply this knowledge in practice: "If I feel bad, I now go for a walk, for example," she reports. Fresh air and movement drive away her dark thoughts and help her out of listlessness.

Once a week, Kerner also phoned a therapist with whom she could discuss her experiences. It all helped. “I felt really bad before. I didn't enjoy anything anymore. Had to pull myself up every day to get up at all. I hardly met friends anymore, I was constantly brooding, ”says Miriam Kerner, describing her time of suffering. “Now I know how to take countermeasures when it starts again.” She subjects negative thoughts to a reality check before they can settle down. And their self-esteem is also much more stable than before the therapy.

Just as effective as the couch

The effectiveness of online therapy has now also been confirmed by an independent study by the Eppendorf University Clinic: the symptoms of the participants improved by an average of 35 percent. “It's comparable to classic psychotherapy,” says Bermbach.

Nevertheless, Selfapy is not intended as a replacement, but as a bridge. “The therapy is much more schematic online than in the classic model. We cannot react as flexibly to individual needs as in direct encounters between therapist and patient, ”says Bermbach.

Selfapy is also unsuitable for people with severe depression or even suicidal thoughts. "We cannot do justice to people who are so heavily burdened," says Bermbach. It is important for them to work directly with a therapist.

Quick help

In an initial consultation, the team's psychologists clarify whether the person seeking help is correct. If nothing speaks against the therapy, it can provide the patient with initial relief - and that immediately.

That was the decisive criterion for Miriam Kerner as well: "I would have had to wait months for a normal therapy place."

Because being mentally ill and having to go through psychotherapy is still strongly stigmatized and fraught with shame. "If you haven't experienced it yourself, it is difficult to understand that a person who has two healthy legs cannot get up in the morning," says Bermbach. "Then it quickly means: He's too lazy."

Hope for cash financing

The young psychologists have already reached 1,500 people affected with their online offer. Your stress reduction program is already being paid for by some health insurers and the chances are good that the costs for the other Selfapy offers could soon be funded by the health insurance companies. The therapies currently cost between 150 and 180 euros. For this sum you usually get just two hours of classic psychotherapy.

The remaining costs are paid out of subsidies. "Many of our users have little money available, so we keep the price as low as possible," says the psychologist. And for those who cannot afford that themselves, they have always found a solution so far. “We don't want to send anyone away who needs help,” says Bermbach. She had to do that far too often during her studies.

Are you interested in what selfafpy has to offer? You can find out more and contact us here:

Web: https://www.selfapy.de
Mail contact: [email protected]
Tel: +49 30 - 3982 031 20 (MON to SUN: 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.)
Facebook: facebook.com/selfapy
Twitter: twitter.com/selfapyapp

* Name changed by the editor

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