Substance-related addictions: Alcohol, illegal drugs, medication etc.

Alcohol and other substance-related dependencies and addictions are a major problem all over the world. A recent study reports 3% of Germans are related to alcohol. Alcohol abuse affects 5% of the entire population. There is a lot of information about alcoholism on the Internet, some German resources include www.medinfo.de or www.sucht.de.

Illegal drugs such as heroin, crack and marijuana are also very common in society. Therapy to help with these problems is usually provided by special counselling centres offered by the cities and municipalities. Self-help groups also play an important role here. Information about this is usually available from the city's health authorities.

In outpatient psychotherapy, this topic is rarely the subject of treatment. Outpatient psychotherapy is usually only an option after inpatient treatment. There are diseases, such as bulimia, in which alcohol addiction also plays a role. In such cases, outpatient psychotherapy with specially trained psychotherapists can be useful.

Addictions can be life-threatening.

The treatment of addictions of any kind, using a mixture of inpatient and outpatient therapy often takes several years.

Health insurance companies, both private and statutory/public, usually cover the costs of treatment.