Conversion report KZT → LZT: checklist

As of October 2026 · about 6 minutes to read

If it becomes clear during short-term therapy (Kurzzeittherapie, KZT) that treatment will take longer, you apply to convert it into long-term therapy (Langzeittherapie, LZT). Unlike the short-term therapy itself, this conversion generally requires an expert review by a Gutachter, the independent reviewer who assesses the application for the insurer. The following checklist helps you make sure nothing is missed.

Framework: quotas and timing

Short-term therapy comprises two blocks of up to twelve sessions each. For long-term therapy, the Psychotherapie-Richtlinie sets the approval quota per approach for adults in individual treatment: 60 sessions in behavioural therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy, 160 sessions in analytical psychotherapy and 36 sessions in systemic therapy, each with options for continuation. Sessions already delivered in the short-term therapy count towards the quota of the long-term therapy.

Plan the application so that the approval is in place before the short-term quota is used up. The expert review and processing by the health insurer take time; a gap between the end of the short-term therapy and the approval means an interruption for the patient.

Checklist before writing

• Indication for long-term therapy checked and discussed with the patient
• Sessions delivered so far and remaining KZT quota counted
• Consultation report is available and not outdated; result and medication noted
• Questionnaire values from the start of treatment and current values available, with dates
• Session notes with concrete observations on the course (exercises, exposures, changes) at hand
• Diagnosis according to ICD-10-GM checked; changes since the start of treatment explained
• Chiffre (case code) prepared (first letter of the family name and six-digit date of birth)

Checklist for the report

The conversion report follows the structure of the initial report on the PTV 3 (sections 1 to 6) and adds the course so far. For each section, check:

• Sociodemographics: only information relevant to treatment; no identifying details
• Symptoms and findings: complaints at the start, mental state findings, test values with instrument and date
• Somatic findings: result of the consultation report, medication
• Life history and model: biography with a recognisable link to the functional analysis (Bedingungsmodell) or to the psychodynamics
• Course of the short-term therapy: what was worked on, what has changed measurably or observably, what still limits the patient
• Diagnosis: fits symptoms and model
• Treatment plan: concrete goals for further treatment, methods, number of sessions applied for, frequency
• Reasons for the conversion: why the short-term therapy is not sufficient – comprehensible from the course and the remaining goals
• Prognosis: your reasoned assessment, based on factors from the report

The course is the heart of the report

In an initial report, the reasoning rests on history and findings. In a conversion report you also have something more convincing: the actual course of treatment. Use it.

Instead of “The patient has made good progress”, write what happened: “In the twelfth session the patient carried out the exposure in the team meeting without safety behaviour for the first time; her subjective tension fell from 70 to 35.” Instead of “Depressive symptoms are declining”, give the values: “The PHQ-9 total score was 19 at the start and most recently 14.” Such sentences can be checked, and at the same time they show why further sessions make sense: progress is visible, goals have not yet been reached.

What has not yet succeeded is just as important. If avoidance persists or exercises were repeatedly cancelled, this belongs in the report. It often justifies the conversion better than a list of successes.

Example: from a note to a sentence in the report

A fictional example shows how a session note becomes a verifiable sentence in the report. The note on the twelfth session reads, in bullet points: “Exposure team meeting done, no safety behaviour (no note cards), SUD 70 → 35, homework 2× contribution/week.” (SUD = subjective units of distress.)

In the section on the course this becomes: “In the twelfth session the patient carried out the exposure ‘contribution in the team meeting’ without safety behaviour for the first time; her subjective tension fell from 70 to 35.” The sentence adds nothing that is not in the note, but is worded so that outsiders can understand it.

Compare the sentence “Overall, occupational strain has decreased significantly.” It sounds plausible but rests on no single note and no measured value. Such sentences arise easily while writing because they sum up the overall impression. Check them with particular care: either you find a concrete place in the documentation that supports the statement, or you word it more cautiously or delete the sentence.

A simple habit helps when proofreading: next to each sentence on the course, note which session or measurement point it rests on. Sentences without an entry are candidates for revision.

Typical mistakes

• Application too late: The short-term quota is used up before the approval is in place.
• Copied initial report: The report describes only the starting state, not the course.
• Unsupported statements about the course: “significantly improved” without a measured value or observation.
• Goals without a link: The goals for the long-term therapy take up problems that do not appear in the report.
• Missing session counts: The number of sessions applied for and the sessions already delivered do not match.

After sending

• Patient’s application (PTV 1) and your information (PTV 2) complete
• Report in a sealed envelope (PTV 8), marked with the Chiffre
• Copy of the report filed in your treatment documentation
• Deadline for further planning noted in case the KZT quota runs short

How good documentation helps

Most of the work on a conversion report is looking things up: When was the first exposure? What value did the questionnaire show in July? If you have documented with dates from the start, you will find them quickly. The Application Copilot (German: Antrags-Copilot) keeps a case file with session notes and questionnaire values and assembles a draft from it in the structure of the PTV 3 – with the source on every sentence. You review, change and write the report in person. You will find an example in the sample report on a fictional case; the article The PTV 3 report: structure and sections explains how the report is built.