Psychotherapy in English
Cognitive behavioural therapy for adults, with a licensed psychologist and psychotherapist – offered in English to privately insured patients and self-payers.
Welcome to my practice for psychotherapy in English.
I am a licensed psychologist and psychotherapist offering cognitive behavioural therapy for adults in Wiesbaden, Germany – in English.
This page covers what you need to know about the practice at Adolfsallee 47:
how cognitive behavioural therapy works, what I treat, how the process runs from first contact to the start of treatment, and a little about me.
Please read the section below first – it explains who this practice can treat in English, which is not the case for everyone. If anything is still unclear, call during the telephone consultation hour or write to me via the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Kind regards
Dr Johannes Harbort
English-language therapy: private insurance and self-payment
Therapy in English is available to privately insured patients and self-payers. It is only available in exceptional cases for patients with German statutory health insurance (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung).
The reason is practical, not a matter of preference: working, documenting and reporting in a second language takes considerably more time than the statutory system provides for, and that additional effort can only rarely be accommodated within it. Under statutory insurance, treatment therefore remains available in German – see the German site.
See Coverage of Costs / How billing works below for fees, invoicing and insurance – including TRICARE, Cigna and Aetna.
Living in Wiesbaden without German
Wiesbaden and the surrounding Rhine-Main area are home to a large international community. Settling into a new country, working in a second language, being far from family – none of that is a disorder, but it does make everything else harder to carry.
The practice treats adults from Wiesbaden, Mainz and the wider Frankfurt region, with an English-speaking psychologist and psychotherapist licensed in Germany. Sessions are held in person at Adolfsallee 47, a short walk from Wiesbaden's central station.
Children and adolescents are treated by specially licensed child and adolescent psychotherapists in Germany, not by this practice.
Understand what drives it — then change what confines you.
Cognitive behavioural therapy is a branch of psychotherapy that starts from a simple premise: most feelings, thoughts and behaviours were learned over the course of a life. What was learned can therefore be unlearned – or changed.
Every course of therapy begins with understanding the problem on every level: why does it feel this way, which experiences are behind it, and why has the pattern persisted until now? Only once we understand this thoroughly do we work out, step by step, what change is possible – on the level of feeling, of behaviour, and of outlook.
Cognitive behavioural therapy is therefore always solution-focused. It follows the goal that you define as worth working towards. My role is to help you recognise and clear the obstacles on that path.
You stay involved throughout: everything happens openly and transparently, together. The more you become the expert on your own themes, the better you can work towards lasting change – which is what makes the results hold, even after the last session.
Cognitive behavioural therapy
One of the standard, evidence-based approaches to psychotherapy (more under FAQ). Its effectiveness is well documented for many conditions. Goals, method and next steps stay transparent at every stage.
Mindfulness & schema therapy
Cognitive behavioural therapy is complemented by elements of mindfulness and schema therapy, working on several levels at once towards your goals – regulating distressing emotions differently, or first understanding, then accepting, then changing recurring patterns from your own history.
Research that reaches the room
Trained and licensed as a psychological psychotherapist, followed by a doctorate in psychology. Several years working on research projects funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) at the universities of Mainz and Frankfurt. What has been shown to work finds its way into treatment.
What people come to my practice with.
Adults only. Children and adolescents are treated by specially licensed child and adolescent psychotherapists in Germany.
Depression & burnout symptoms
Persistent low mood, loss of drive and interest, exhaustion, sleep, decision-making and concentration problems.
Social anxiety disorder
The fear of embarrassing yourself or showing embarrassing symptoms in front of others, usually with avoidance of the feared social situations – the subject of my doctoral research as a psychologist.
Relationship difficulties
Recurring difficulty in conducting relationships in a way that feels satisfying and largely harmonious, for you and for the other person.
Panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia
Panic attacks out of a clear sky that reach maximum fear very quickly, feel threatening and unpleasant, and often lead to avoidance of certain situations.
Specific phobias
Fear of heights, of animals, or of other very specific situations.
Generalised anxiety disorder
Excessive and persistent worry about many different, often everyday things.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Washing, checking and ordering compulsions, as well as distressing intrusive thoughts.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma effects
Persistent, intrusive re-experiencing, hyperarousal and avoidance of situations that recall what happened.
Eating disorders: anorexia, bulimia and binge eating
Fear of weight gain and marked dissatisfaction with one's own body, excessive fasting, binge eating, vomiting.
Alcohol & substance misuse, behavioural addictions
Use of alcohol, other substances, or addictive behaviour that has begun to cause restrictions and problems in daily life – for example at work or in a relationship.
Physical illness
Psychological effects and consequences accompanying physical illness.
Sexual difficulties
Erectile difficulties, loss of desire or aversion, pain during intercourse.
From first call to the start of treatment.
Four steps, each building on the last. Because English-language treatment is private or self-paid, there is no application to a statutory health fund and no waiting for its approval. How costs are covered is explained further down this page.
Get in touch
The best way to reach me is by e-mail, ideally with a phone number where I can reach you during the day – most things are settled faster in conversation. Or call directly during the telephone consultation hour, Monday to Friday between 2 and 2:45 pm.
Initial consultation
We begin with up to three consultation sessions to understand your situation: what brings you here, what is weighing on you, and whether psychotherapy is the right path.
At the start of this stage is a thorough assessment. It clarifies which difficulties are present and whether they amount to a condition warranting treatment – the professional basis for any sound treatment plan, and often the basis your insurer needs to confirm cover.
Assessment sessions
We gather more information about your history, your difficulties and your strengths, and decide together whether we want to work with one another.
Therapy
The actual course of cognitive behavioural therapy then begins: short-term treatment of up to 24 sessions, or long-term treatment of up to 60 sessions. Sessions last 50 minutes and usually take place once a week. Continuing beyond that is possible where clinically justified.
Dr Johannes Harbort, psychologist.
Licensed psychological psychotherapist for cognitive behavioural therapy, licensed since 2010. In the practice at Adolfsallee since 2014, previously self-employed at two locations in Wiesbaden and Eltville.
Before entering private practice: a doctorate at the University of Mainz on gaze perception in social anxiety, completed magna cum laude; teaching assignments at the University of Mainz; work on research projects funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) on emotion regulation in depression and on the treatment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia; and a year at the psychiatric hospital St Valentinushaus.
Professional Background
Harbort, J., Witthöft, M., Spiegel, J., Nick, K., & Hecht, H. (2013). The widening of the gaze cone in patients with social anxiety disorder and its normalization after CBT. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 51, 359–367.
Harbort, J., Spiegel, J., Witthöft, M., & Hecht, H. (2017). The effects of social pressure and emotional expression on the cone of gaze in patients with social anxiety disorder. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 55, 16–24.
Adolfsallee 47
The practice is conveniently located close to Wiesbaden's main railway station, on the second floor at Adolfsallee 47. It is a five-minute walk from the local transport stops at the station, and around fifteen minutes from the city centre.
Service for patients
The therapy room is air-conditioned, for a comfortable atmosphere even in hot summers.
An app sends reminders for upcoming session appointments. The same app can be used to send you documents, such as worksheets.
Arriving by car
By car, the best option – especially in the afternoon – is the car park at the Lilien-Carré shopping centre, about a three-minute walk from the practice. For your navigation system, enter Bahnhofsplatz 3, 65189 Wiesbaden.
Open directions to the Lilien-Carré car park in Google Maps
If you would rather park directly at the practice, please allow some extra time to find a space – spaces can be hard to find, especially in the early evening.
Open directions to the practice in Google Maps
If you are running late, a short call to 0611 137 030 49 is welcome.
How fees and invoicing work
Fees for privately insured patients and self-payers follow the German scale of fees for psychotherapists (Gebührenordnung für Psychotherapeuten, GOP), a fixed schedule that applies across Germany. Sessions last 50 minutes.
To begin with, an invoice is issued every two to three sessions; later, every four to six sessions, in a form you can submit to your insurer for reimbursement. Payment can also be made directly on site by credit card. As I am part of the TRICARE provider network and treat patients insured with Cigna or Aetna on a regular basis, the paperwork these insurers expect is familiar ground. Details of your specific cover are worth clarifying with your insurer before treatment begins, and we can discuss the exact fee openly in the first sessions.
A note for TRICARE Overseas patients: whether you need a referral before seeing me depends on your specific plan.
- Patients enrolled in TRICARE Prime Overseas or TRICARE Prime Remote Overseas generally need a referral from their Primary Care Manager before visiting a specialist. I submit invoices directly to TRICARE on your behalf, and TRICARE settles them directly with me — so you do not need to concern yourself with the billing process.
- Patients enrolled in TRICARE Select Overseas – as well as TRICARE Reserve Select, TRICARE Retired Reserve, or TRICARE For Life – can choose a provider freely, without a referral. Under Select-style plans, you typically pay for the session yourself and submit a claim for reimbursement; I am glad to provide the paperwork you need for that.
Psychologist, psychotherapist, psychiatrist — the difference
A psychologist has studied psychology. After the degree, several years of further training followed by state licensing (Approbation) make someone a psychological psychotherapist, licensed to treat independently using psychotherapy. A psychiatrist has studied medicine and is a physician. Psychiatrists treat the same conditions, but usually with medication rather than psychotherapy.
My practice provides cognitive behavioural therapy – one of the treatment approaches recognised and regulated in Germany, alongside psychodynamic, psychoanalytic and systemic therapy. Where medication is appropriate, that is arranged in consultation with your GP or a specialist physician.
What people ask before the first session.
Who can be treated in English?
Privately insured patients and self-payers. Therapy in English is only available in exceptional cases for patients with German statutory health insurance, because the additional effort of working and documenting in a second language can only rarely be accommodated within that system.
If you are insured under a statutory fund, treatment in German remains available – see the German site.
What does it cost, and will my insurer pay?
Fees follow the German scale of fees for psychotherapists (Gebührenordnung für Psychotherapeuten, GOP).
I am part of the TRICARE provider network and regularly treat patients insured with Cigna or Aetna; in my experience these insurers cover treatment in accordance with the terms of the individual policy. Other private insurers generally reimburse psychotherapy as well, though some policies cap the number of sessions per year, so it is worth checking your own cover before treatment begins. The exact fee is discussed openly before we start, and invoices are issued in a form you can submit to your insurer.
For TRICARE patients: please see Coverage of Costs for details on referrals and reimbursement.
How does cognitive behavioural therapy work?
It assumes that behaviour has been learned and can therefore be learned differently. We begin by understanding how a pattern developed and what it costs you today, then agree on goals and work towards them in steps, transparently and without anything happening over your head.
Sessions last 50 minutes and usually take place once a week.
Do you treat children and adolescents?
No, this practice treats adults only. In Germany, children and adolescents are treated by psychotherapists with a separate licence for that age group.
Is my English good enough — or should I look for German-language therapy?
Therapy tends to work best in the language in which you can express yourself most precisely. For many people that is their first language; for others it is English, even as a second language, because it puts a little distance between them and difficult material. Both are legitimate, and it is worth raising in the first conversation.
How do I make an appointment?
By telephone on 0611 137 030 49, Monday to Friday between 2 and 2:45 pm, during the telephone consultation hour, or by e-mail via the contact form. The practice is at Adolfsallee 47, 65185 Wiesbaden, on the second floor. Appointments are by arrangement only.
Still unclear? Call or write to me — that is what the telephone hour is for.
The first step is a phone call.
By telephone during the telephone consultation hour (2–2:45 pm). Or by e-mail via the contact form. If you write, please include a number where I can reach you during the day.
