Mental health
Difficulties in accessing psychotherapy worries in Switzerland
A collective is organizing an event on Saturday in Bern to claim accessible, effective and affordable care for everyone.
The collective denounces “excessively long” waiting times to obtain a place in psychotherapy, especially in the psychiatry of the child and the adolescent (pretext photo).
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The management of mental health In Switzerland worries certain professionals. On Saturday August 16, their claims will resonate in the streets of Bern during a national event organized by the collective Mental health for Touxts. This group is made up of psychotherapists, students and committed people.
Their objective: to denounce the degradation of access to mental care they see in the country. “Psychotherapy is an essential element of basic care. It must be accessible and affordable for all, ”recall the organizers in a press release.
They require better solidarity with those concerned, adequate prices covering costs, realistic and fair, a reduction in administrative burden, financially accessible training places, as well as better working conditions for therapists. Their objective is to guarantee accessible, effective and affordable care for the entire population.
Pending psychotherapy
The collective highlights in particular the waiting times deemed “excessively long” to obtain a place in psychotherapy, in particular in the psychiatry of the child and the adolescent. “However, studies clearly show that without early treatment, the risk of chronic diseases increases considerably,” read the press release.
According to a survey by the collective between July and August 2025 among 411 people, 18% of patients are waiting at least three months and 12% to wait six months or more to be taken care of. “A large number of people immediately receive a negative response, the waiting lists are practically no longer held.”
The organizers of the event also criticize the operation of the prescription model in Switzerland, which entered into force in 2022. The latter “should facilitate access to psychotherapy via basic insurance”.
The collective denounces, however, “regulations distant from practice, difficult negotiations with health funds [qui] considerably complicate the treatment of people with mental disorders ”, while adding that 76% of the professionals questioned estimate the administrative burden too heavy.
What price for psychotherapy?
Another alert point for the collective: the desire of the health funds to reduce the provisional prices of psychotherapeutic services – fixed by most cantons at 154 fr. 80 an hour. A measure which, according to the collective, “puts psychotherapists under financial pressure” and could, according to their survey, encourage 51% of them to favor private patients, capable of paying themselves, to the detriment of those dependent on basic insurance. In addition, 83% already believe that the current rate “does not cover the real costs” of their activity.
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Arrested on these claims, the Federal Office for Public Health (OFSP) reacts: “We share the opinion that a reasonable administrative burden and good working conditions are important to guarantee a long period of exercise of the profession from all health and psychology professionals.”
The Federal Administration specifies that the Swiss Health Observatory (Obsan) is preparing a national report “on the situation in terms of care and the factors that influence mental health”, expected in September 2025. It will be followed by an analysis on the shortage of psychotherapists, scheduled for December 2025. And these works will be completed by monitoring the mental health of children and adolescents (HBSC study) Prevention priorities.
Mental health reports
On the prescription model, “the achievement of objectives and the effects of change on the prescription model are currently the subject of an in -depth evaluation”, replies the OFSP. The latter will be presented “during the first half of 2026”.
On this subject, the OFSP specifies that the fixing of this rate is “the competence of the tariff partners”, namely: the FSP, the ASP and the ASPAS, as well as H+ and Prio.swiss. And says to follow “carefully evolution” while being “in regular contact with pricing partners”.
For the collective, the message remains clear before the demonstration on Saturday: “We call on political leaders, sickness funds and professionals to assume their responsibilities together: for effective psychotherapeutic care, for more equal opportunities and for mental health of all in Switzerland. “
In 2024, more than two -thirds of the Swiss population said they were tired and exhausted, according to a study mandated by the sick person CSS.
Demonstration in favor of mental health, on Saturday August 16 in Berne, Waisenhausplatz, from 2 p.m.
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