Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy as a Career Goal: Motivations and Structural Barriers

Mental disorders frequently begin in childhood and adolescence; approximately half of all mental disorders emerge by the age of 14, and around three quarters by the age of 24 (Kessler et al., 2005). Despite the high level of need, long waiting times and regional shortages in psychotherapeutic care continue to be reported in Germany (German Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists, 2018, 2023). Against this background, the recruitment of early-career professionals in the field of child and adolescent psychotherapy is of central importance. With the reform of psychotherapist training, pathways into the profession of child and adolescent psychotherapist (CAP) have been fundamentally restructured (PsychThApprO; Federal Ministry of Health, 2019/2020), resulting in the elimination of previously existing access routes via (social-)pedagogical undergraduate degrees. Given that, under the former system, graduates from (social-)pedagogical disciplines constituted the majority of CAP trainees (Jungbauer et al., 2013), a substantial loss of qualified professionals is to be expected. Consequently, it appears essential to specifically recruit psychology students for the profession of child and adolescent psychotherapist. In previous surveys, psychology graduates have identified the desire for specialization as well as interest and curiosity in working with children and adolescents as key motivating factors (Jungbauer et al., 2013).