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Article History

Received: 22 February 2025

Accepted: 25 June 2025

First Online: 1 July 2025

Declarations

:

: The present study surveying ambulatory practicing psychotherapists was designed and conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (WMA) and fully complies with the Professional Ethical Guidelines of the Association of German Psychologists (BDP) and the German Society for Psychology (DGP; §7). These guidelines align with the American Psychological Association (APA) standards (§7.3). Key compliance points of our study include: 1. Research Ethics: Adherence to academic freedom, good scientific practice, and ethical integrity (§7.1-§7.3). 2. Informed Consent to participate of all participants: They received clear information on study procedures, duration, and their right to withdraw without consequences (§7.3.3) before starting the survey. 3. Data Privacy and Confidentiality: Compliance with data protection laws, ensuring secure handling of participant information (§5.3, §7.3.3.d.7). 4. Risk Management: Ensuring minimal risk, comparable to everyday experiences, with appropriate safeguards (§7.3.1, §7.3.3.d.5). 5. Ethics Review Exemption: According to German regulations, studies following these guidelines do not require formal ethics committee approval (§7.3.2). 6. Ethical Principles: Respect for human dignity, professional competence, responsibility, and research integrity (§2.1-§2.4). Thus, the study fully meets national ethical standards, with no requirement for additional ethics committee approval.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.