Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centers in Germany

How is addiction treatment paid for in Germany?

Addiction treatment in Germany is usually paid for by statutory health insurance, while rehabilitation, known as Entwöhnung, is funded by the German Pension Insurance. Rehab can be inpatient, full-day outpatient or outpatient, and an inpatient stay carries a co-payment of at most €10 a day for no more than 42 days a year.

The co-payment depends on income, so some people pay less. Pension-funded rehab usually requires six months of compulsory contributions in the last two years, and lifetime civil servants check their entitlement with their own insurer instead. Publicly funded treatment is listed at nearly all of the rehabs in Germany, and public health insurance is accepted at nearly all.

How do I start the public route to rehab in Germany?

The public route to rehab in Germany starts at a local addiction counseling center, a Suchtberatungsstelle, which is free and needs no diagnosis, application or health insurance. Contact can be anonymous, and the center refers people on to outpatient or inpatient therapy once the first conversations have shown what kind of help fits.

For rehabilitation itself, the person applies to the German Pension Insurance with a report from a doctor, and the counseling center adds a social report describing the person’s situation. The pension body then assigns the facility where the rehab takes place, so the choice of clinic is not entirely the person’s own.

Which forms does a rehab application in Germany need?

A rehab application in Germany goes to the German Pension Insurance on form G0100, with the doctor’s report on form S0051. The counseling center’s social report, the Sozialbericht, completes the file and suggests whether inpatient, full-day outpatient or outpatient rehab suits the person, before the insurer makes its decision.

Counseling centers help people fill in the forms, which is one reason that first visit matters. Rehab transfers, where a person moves from one setting to the next, are listed at about half of the rehabs in Germany, and aftercare at some.

Who regulates private rehab clinics in Germany?

Private addiction clinics in Germany need a license, called a Konzession, from the responsible state authority under section 30 of the Trade Regulation Act. The license looks at whether the operator is reliable, whether medical and nursing care is adequate and whether the premises are suitable, and the authority that grants it differs from state to state.

Doctors, psychologists and counselors at publicly recognized counseling centers are bound by professional secrecy under section 203 of the Criminal Code, and treatment records also fall under the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Private insurance is accepted at a few of the rehabs in Germany.

Can someone in Germany be placed in treatment against their will?

An adult in Germany can be placed in a closed setting through a court-appointed legal guardian, called a Betreuer, with approval from the guardianship court under section 1831 of the Civil Code. The grounds are narrow and tied to mental illness or disability: a risk of suicide or serious self-harm, or treatment that is needed but cannot otherwise be given.

Each German state also has its own mental health law for placement on grounds of danger, so some details differ across the country. Treatment for people sent by a court is listed at a few of the rehabs in Germany.

What does rehab in Germany cost?

Residential rehab in Germany has an estimated typical range of €8,900 to €23,700 a month, and medical detox €5,300 to €16,600 a month. Outpatient care is the lowest-cost level, at an estimated €1,100 to €3,600 a month, with day treatment sitting between €5,300 and €11,200.

These ranges apply to privately paid care. Room type, length of stay and the therapies included shape the final amount, and a clinic can set out in writing what a stay covers. Self-pay is listed at a few of the rehabs in Germany.

How much does each level of care cost in Germany?

Each level of care in Germany has its own estimated monthly range, from €1,100 at the bottom of the outpatient range to €23,700 at the top of the residential one. Medical detox and day treatment fall between those two, and the table lists the four levels found among the rehabs in Germany.

Is there free or low-cost rehab in Germany?

Counseling at a local addiction counseling center in Germany is free, and rehab approved by the German Pension Insurance costs the person no more than the €10 daily co-payment for up to 42 days a year. That makes the public route the lowest-cost option for anyone who meets its contribution rules.

Foundation-funded care is listed at some of the rehabs in Germany. People without German insurance or pension contributions can ask a counseling center which route is open to them before planning a stay.

Is medication-assisted treatment available in Germany?

Opioid substitution treatment is available in Germany under section 5 of the Narcotics Prescription Ordinance. Only doctors with a qualification in addiction medicine may prescribe it, and every treatment is reported to the substitution register kept by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, the national medicines regulator.

Medication-assisted treatment appears at some of the rehabs in Germany, with methadone and buprenorphine each at a few. The binding guideline set by the national medical association now includes nasal naloxone that people in substitution treatment can take home for an opioid emergency.

Which substances do rehabs in Germany treat?

Alcohol and opioids are the substances most often listed by rehabs in Germany: about half name alcohol and about half name opioids, including heroin and prescription painkillers. Cocaine and benzodiazepines appear at a few, so it helps to ask a clinic directly about any other substance before making contact about a place.

Mental health treatment is listed at nearly all of the rehabs in Germany, and care for trauma appears at some of them.

Coming to Germany for treatment from abroad

Germany is in the Schengen area, so visitors from outside the EU can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period, on a short-stay visa if their nationality needs one. A course of treatment longer than 90 days falls under Germany’s national procedures, which are handled separately from the short-stay rules.

Each city page names the nearest international airport, and rehab near major airports can be searched on its own. Rehab is also listed in neighboring Austria, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands.

Can I bring prescribed medication into Germany?

For travel within the Schengen area, prescribed narcotic medication brought to Germany must come with a certificate under Article 75 of the Schengen Implementing Convention. The prescribing doctor completes one certificate for each medicine, and each is valid for up to 30 days, so it covers a stay of about a month.

German guidance says no shared international rules apply outside the Schengen area, so people arriving from further away can ask the clinic before travel how prescriptions will be handled. Medical cannabis is no longer classed as a narcotic in Germany but still needs a certificate for travel.

Is there English-speaking support in Germany?

German is the treatment language at nearly all of the rehabs in Germany, and English does not appear among the languages they list, so anyone who needs therapy in English can ask about it before admission. Alcoholics Anonymous runs meetings across Germany and keeps a contacts page for other languages.

AA’s meeting search also covers phone, video and chat meetings, and its hotline answers daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. DigiSucht, the free national online counseling platform, offers anonymous counseling. The Sucht & Drogen Hotline, a national line run within a framework from the Federal Institute for Public Health, answers alcohol and drug questions every day from 8 a.m. to midnight at €0.20 a call.

Rehab is also listed in Italy, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Ireland, Greece, Croatia and the United Kingdom, and every country is on the Europe page.