Psychological help

Pilot project creates 200 therapy places for kids

Young people need particularly empathetic support in times of crisis.(Bild: africa-studio.com)

Psychotherapy and psychological help: state and health insurance fund respond to rising demand.

Although the problem was already virulent before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, it was only during and after the pandemic that the issue gained more and more public attention: children and young people who suffer from mental health problems and urgently need professional support. Experts repeatedly warned of the consequences if these young people were not helped. The problem is that there are too few care and therapy places.

Psychotherapeutic and psychological help
The state of Vorarlberg and the health insurance fund have now joined forces and developed a pilot project that addresses precisely this issue: The range of psychotherapeutic and psychological help for children and adolescents is being expanded, according to a press release on Wednesday. 200 additional treatment places for children and young people with mental health problems are being created and the project is being implemented by the Institute for Social Services (ifs).

The expansion of services is possible as clinical-psychological treatment has been treated in the same way as psychotherapy since 1 January 2024. "This means that the number of specialists can be increased and prompt treatment can be guaranteed for more children and adolescents," explained ÖGK regional office chairman Manfred Brunner. The care services should be of a high quality and access to them should be low-threshold, explained Martina Rüscher (ÖVP), a regional health councillor. By the second contact with the ifs at the latest, the affected kids or their parents should arrive at the right place - with the right therapist.