Bottleneck in care

One in four Austrians has mental health problems

A quarter of people in Austria have mental health problems, but only some of them receive care. "This is unacceptable", said Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) on Tuesday. There would need to be around twice as many psychotherapy places financed by health insurance companies.

Psychological treatment should be available more frequently on a sickness certificate. Those who need it should have to pull out their e-card and not their credit card, said Rauch. On Tuesday in Vienna, he presented "Healthy from the crisis", a showcase project aimed at children and young people. So far, more than 22,000 people up to the age of 21 have received "rapid and local" support from either psychologists or psychotherapists. Fifteen sessions are free of charge.

"Gesund aus der Krise" has been running since April 2022 and is funded by the Ministry of Health with a total of 50.2 million euros. Since then, the mental health of 95% of children and young people has improved. "That's a brilliant amount," said Rauch. According to him, it should be included in regular operations in the next legislative period. At present, the project is limited in time and has to be extended from year to year.

Need for seriously ill people
The Professional Association of Austrian Psychologists (BÖP) also pointed out that more school psychologists are needed. There are currently 252 for a total of 1.16 million children and young people in Austria.

In addition, good care is also needed for all adults, especially those with life-threatening and chronic illnesses. "The need for psychological support for people who have to live with a cancer diagnosis is great - and will continue to grow due to increasing diagnoses. Around a third of people affected by cancer would like psycho-oncological support," reads a press release on "Healthy from the crisis."