People with severe mental health issues are waiting too long for psychological treatment

Most Dutch people are waiting too long for psychological help. Statistics provided by the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) show that the waiting time for most treatments is continuing to rise. Only basic mental health care organizations, where people with light to moderately severe issues are treated, are able to start the average patient on a treatment plan within the agreed length of time of 14 weeks.

The norms for the “maximum acceptable waiting time” are often not reached for the more severe categories. People with personality disorders have to wait an average of 28 weeks before treatment begins. This has increased compared to a year ago when they had to wait 24 weeks on average.

People with obsessive-compulsive disorders are on the waiting list for 25 weeks, according to the most recent statistics, five weeks longer than at the end of 2023. Most people are sent to mental health care in Utrecht and Amsterdam. These cities also have the most people on a waiting list.

The NZa does have reservations about the figures, which reflect the situation in October. Despite improvements in the provision of data, the authority does not have a complete picture.

For example, the waiting list statistics are only provided by organizations with more than 10 health care providers. Changes in the delivery of figures can also have some influence. However, the NZa also concluded that the sector is under increased pressure.

The demand for psychological care has increased sharply in the last few years. “At this moment, more people are working in mental health care than ever before, and we spend more money on mental health care than ever,” said the State Secretary for Youth, Prevention, and Sport, Vincent Karremans.

However, the demand for help is growing at a faster rate than the number of staff in the sector. The Dutch Association of Mental Health and Addiction Care calculated that there has been an annual increase of 45,000 people since 2023. The association is “very concerned” about the waiting times and wants to reduce this with flexibility and prevention.

Karremans (VVD) wants to work with the sector to “look critically whether people genuinely need mental health care, or whether support from the municipalities, or their own nearby surroundings is more beneficial.”

A different solution currently being trialed is an introductory conversation to decide the best way to help the person in question. If, for example, somebody is under a lot of stress due to debts, then debt assistance may be a better solution than the psychiatrist.