What if I cannot get an appointment?

116117, consultation hour & therapy place

In short

What this page is about

What you can do if you are looking for mental health support but practices are full, waiting lists are long, or you only get rejections.

This may fit if

you receive rejections or cannot find a free appointment.

Looking for something else?

If the situation becomes acutely dangerous, urgent help matters more than a waiting list.

If you do just one thing

Briefly note rejections.

No appointment is not a judgment on your situation

Many practices are full. A rejection therefore does not mean that your concern is too small, wrong, or unimportant. You may keep looking for help even if several places have nothing free right now.

Briefly note rejections

Write down when you asked where and what the answer was: no place, waiting list, ask again later, or no reply. This helps you keep an overview and can be useful with health insurance, 116117 (Germany’s medical on-call and appointment service. It is not an emergency number; call 112 in immediate danger.), or further questions.

Use several paths in parallel

You can keep contacting practices and involve other places at the same time: family doctor, psychotherapeutic consultation (A first assessment appointment in a psychotherapeutic practice in Germany. It does not automatically mean a therapy place is available.) hour, 116117, counseling center, social counseling, or health insurance. Sometimes the next step is not the perfect therapy place immediately, but a first professional assessment.

Ask about waiting lists or alternatives

You can ask directly: "Can you put me on a waiting list or name another place?" Or: "Can you tell me what next step is possible?" Sentences like this are enough. You do not have to explain everything.

If it becomes urgent

If you do not feel safe, have suicidal thoughts, or are afraid you might harm yourself or someone else, waiting for an appointment is not the right path. Then real urgent help matters: 112 in immediate danger, a crisis service, or someone who stays with you now.

Sources and notes

• 116117: psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic consultation
• Federal Ministry of Health: psychotherapeutic consultation
• Wege zur Psychotherapie: information from German psychotherapist chambers
• 116117: medical on-call service and appointment service

If you only wanted information

This guide may fit as a next step: I am waiting for therapy - what now?

If you want to try first contact

Use the sentence helper or copy one short sentence. First contact does not have to be perfect.

If it has become urgent

Then reading more is not the priority. Open urgent help or call 112 in Germany if there is immediate danger.

One small step for now

Write down only one alternative: another practice, 116117, a counseling center, or a family doctor. You do not have to solve everything today.