Data protection: psychologists against sharing sensitive data with authorities

The Professional Association of German Psychologists (BDP) urgently warns against the stigmatization of people with mental illnesses through changes to the law that are intended to enable an improved exchange of information to avert danger. The latest push in this direction comes from the Hessian state government. This involves changes to the Mental Health Care Act (PsychKHG).

The draft bill from the CDU and SPD envisages that sensitive data from people in psychiatric care can be passed on to authorities and the police in the future if, for example, doctors assess a potential propensity for violence or danger to others. Several federal states are examining similar regulations.

Instrumentalized individual cases

The BDP believes that individual cases are being exploited to weaken medical and psychotherapeutic confidentiality, partly by circumventing data protection. This could permanently undermine trust in psychological and psychiatric services. The association appeals to politicians not to promote the stigmatization of mentally ill people and not to weaken data protection. Such measures would not contribute to curbing acts of violence in Germany.

The BDP points out that, according to current findings, mentally ill people do not have a fundamentally increased potential for violence compared to the general population. Rather, the propensity for violence is influenced by various factors such as socio-economic status, upbringing, social environment, and personal experiences of violence. Mental illness is just one aspect among many.

“For effective long-term prevention of violence, BDP Vice President Susanne Berwanger points to other factors such as social participation, the promotion of equal social opportunities and prevention, as well as intervention via intact care structures for the early identification of support needs,” says the BDP. Intervention via therapeutic contact points and guideline-based treatment remains the most effective way to reach people with mental illness. However, there are still considerable gaps in care in the German healthcare system.

In June 2025, the Conference of Interior Ministers of the federal states announced tougher action against mentally ill people with a potential for violence. The BDP and the Association of Psychological Psychotherapists (VPP) had already previously critically assessed the interagency risk management planned in the coalition agreement via a risk register. The BDP had already warned against linking risk registers with personal EPR data, as some politicians have called for.

In connection with the planned legal changes to the transfer of sensitive patient data, both medical professionals and patients are warning of potential risks to data protection. They fear that comprehensive access to treatment data by security authorities could jeopardize medical confidentiality and compromise the relationship of trust between patients and therapists. General access to “relevant information” by the authorities is therefore viewed critically.

The security authorities already have registers of mentally ill offenders. The legal situation is also regulated for mentally ill people who are planning crimes, as doctors and psychologists may or must break their duty of confidentiality in individual cases. Forced hospitalization is possible if there is a concrete suspicion of averting danger or criminal prosecution.

(mack)