Contracted psychologists in Belgium (INAMI first-line psychological care): rules and records

In Belgium, a contracted psychologist (psychologue conventionné) is a clinical psychologist or orthopedagogue who has signed an agreement with a mental health network, which itself has an agreement with INAMI, the national health insurance institute. Their sessions are covered by compulsory health insurance through the patient's mutualité (health insurance fund), and the patient pays only a small personal share. Here are the rules as INAMI writes them (figures read on the INAMI website, consulted on 05/11/2026), what to write in the patient record, and templates ready to copy.

What changed in 2024: "first-line" and "specialised"

"Specialised" care and its group caps come from the 2021 agreement (INAMI citizen FAQ, version of 11/05/2022). They no longer apply.

The model agreement between the network and the psychologist, in force since 1 April 2024, describes three functions (article 3):

• Function 1, community interventions: groups focused on self-care, resilience and psychoeducation (article 4 §1).
• Function 2, first-line psychological support: clarifying the request, prevention and early detection.
• Function 3, first-line psychological treatment: short treatment for mild to moderate problems, with clinical goals.

The word "specialised" now appears only in article 7 (3°), for the "more intensive specialised mental health care" to which you refer a patient whose needs go beyond the agreement.

A dated warning. Under article 24, this agreement "is valid until 31 December 2026 and is not renewed by tacit renewal". As of 05/11/2026, neither INAMI's professionals page, nor the amendments built into the text, nor circular Psy-Ort/2026/001 of 3 March 2026 announce an extension. Ask your network which text will apply on 1 January 2027.

Sessions and personal share at a glance

Figures from the INAMI page for professionals and the fee schedule applicable from 01/01/2026, consulted on 05/11/2026. Limits apply per 12-month period, starting at the first session (article 9).

• Community interventions (group, all ages): no limit on sessions; 120-minute groups; personal share 0 euros.
• Support, adult network (from 15): at most 8 individual sessions; 60 minutes; personal share 11 euros (4 euros with increased reimbursement) from age 24; first session free; groups unlimited, 2.50 euros per session from age 24.
• Support, children and adolescents network (up to 23 inclusive): at most 10 individual sessions; 60 minutes; personal share 0 euros.
• Treatment, adult network: average of 8 individual sessions, 20 at most; functional assessment required; personal share 11 or 4 euros from age 24; groups unlimited, 2.50 euros.
• Treatment, children and adolescents network: average of 10 individual sessions, 20 at most; functional assessment required; personal share 0 euros.
• Psychologist's fee: 91.13 euros per individual session, personal share included; 243.01 euros per group session (first provider); 22.78 euros for a multidisciplinary meeting of at least 15 minutes.

Three details that consumer pages leave out (article 5 §2). An individual session lasts 60 minutes, with at least 45 of contact. Only one individual session per patient per day is reimbursable, except sessions with relatives. And the number "is not an enforceable right for the beneficiary": it is a ceiling, not an entitlement.

Between 15 and 23, a young person may fall under either network; under article 18, you choose based on the context. A session with relatives counts as one session.

Becoming a contracted psychologist: the conditions

According to INAMI, you need an approval (agrément) from your Community and a visa from the FPS Public Health, you apply to a mental health network, then you sign an agreement with that network. If you do not yet have an INAMI number, INAMI assigns one. Registration with the Psychologists Commission, which protects the title, must be renewed every calendar year.

Once contracted, article 11 also commits you to take part in the network's intervision and supervision, and to work within its catchment area.

The patient pathway, step by step

• 1. First contact: no prescription. Patients find psychologists through the INAMI search tool, which points to each network's website. The first session takes place within one week to one month of the request.
• 2. Free first session: clarifying the request and the number of possible sessions.
• 3. Choosing the function: support (no assessment) or treatment. For treatment, you write the functional assessment, preferably during or after the first session (article 5). You decide on eligibility (article 7, 2°).
• 4. Link with the GP: with the patient's consent, the GP completes the assessment if needed, and you communicate with the GP who holds the global medical file (DMG) (article 9). Refusal or no GP: see the FAQ.
• 5. Sessions: 60 minutes, at the practice, remotely or, exceptionally and with the patient's agreement, in their living environment. For remote care, the first session is in person (see the FAQ).
• 6. Attestation: each session is attested in the web application, under the patient's national number (NISS), "no later than the 5th day of the third month following the month to which they relate" (article 13). A session on 7 October must therefore be attested by 5 January. After that, it can no longer be billed.
• 7. End of pathway or referral: goals met, or needs beyond the agreement. In that case you refer the patient to more intensive care in the network (article 7, 3°).

What the psychologist keeps in the record

According to the Psychologists Commission, the patient rights law of 22 August 2002 gives a right to a carefully kept and securely stored patient record (article 9 §1). The quality law of 22 April 2019 sets its content (article 33, 24 points, "where applicable and within the limits of your competence") and its retention, 30 to 50 years after the last contact (article 35). Details are in our article on the patient record for psychologists in Belgium.

The agreement adds items specific to the reimbursed pathway. For a contracted psychologist, we advise keeping at least the following in each record:

• Function chosen (support or treatment), network (adults or children and adolescents) and date of the first session.
• Functional assessment for the treatment function, with its points a to g.
• Consent to sharing with the GP, refusal or withdrawal, written and dated, as the INAMI FAQ for professionals asks; or no GP and the referral offered.
• Session counter: session number, date, length, setting (practice, home, remote), session with a relative.
• Multidisciplinary meeting report, if one took place (article 9).
• Supporting documents for each service (article 13) and proof of attestation.

Your network can add its own requirements. The agreement of the Brussels network Brumenta (version valid until 31/03/2026), for example, required taking part in its surveys and monitoring (article 23 §13). Reread your own network's agreement.

Templates ready to copy

Template 1. Functional assessment (treatment function)

Structure taken from points a to g of article 7 (1°) of the agreement, given "as an example of good practice".

• a. Contact details: patient (name, date of birth, NISS), psychologist (name, INAMI number, network), GP and other providers.
• b. Request for help: complaints and difficulties, in the patient's words.
• c. Context and social network: family, ability to work or study, social contacts.
• d. Help already received: what, when, with what effect.
• e. Treatment goals: two or three observable goals.
• f. Recommendations: further treatment and useful support.
• g. Proposed treatment: approach, frequency, planned number of sessions, setting.
• Sharing with the GP: accepted / refused / no GP (date, referral).
• Date and signature. Reminder: the assessment belongs to the patient.

Template 2. Contracted session note

• Patient: initials, network, function (support / treatment).
• Session: no. X out of the function's ceiling, date, length (including contact time), setting, relative present or not.
• Topics covered: three to five factual lines.
• Clinical observations: what you noticed.
• Progress on assessment goals: goal by goal.
• Interventions and tasks suggested.
• Next session: date, topics to pick up.
• Admin: remaining sessions told to the patient (yes / no), attested on …

Template 3. End-of-pathway letter to the GP

Only with the patient's agreement, and limited to what is useful to the doctor.

Dear Dr [name], with the consent of [first name, surname, date of birth], I am writing to let you know that their first-line psychological [support / treatment] pathway within the [network name] network has ended.

Initial request: [one sentence]. Number of sessions: [X], from [date] to [date]. Goals set in the functional assessment: [short list]. Progress: [two or three sentences]. Next steps: [end of care / referral to … / may resume if …]. Points for your attention: [if any].

I am happy to discuss. [Name, clinical psychologist, INAMI number, contact details].

More templates (certificates, letters to doctors, summaries) are in our clinical document templates.

Filled-in fictional example

People and data invented.

Functional assessment for Sarah M., 34, adult network

• a. Contact details: Sarah M.; psychologist Julien D., adult network for her area; GP Dr Anne V.
• b. Request: "I haven't been able to sleep since my department was reorganised." Tension, rumination, two days off work in one month.
• c. Context: lives with her partner, one 5-year-old child; works full time; has seen few friends in three months.
• d. Help already received: two GP visits, sleep hygiene advice, partial effect.
• e. Goals: at least five decent nights a week; one social activity a week; prepare a talk with her manager.
• f. Recommendations: short treatment, review at session 6.
• g. Proposed treatment: cognitive behavioural approach, one session every two weeks, 8 sessions planned, at the practice.
• Sharing with the GP: accepted on 12/09/2026, signed.

Note for session 4

• Session: no. 4, treatment, 07/10/2026, 60 minutes including 50 of contact, practice.
• Topics: difficult meeting with her manager, guilt towards her son.
• Observations: more relaxed than in session 3, sleep better four nights out of seven according to her diary.
• Goals: sleep improving; one social activity resumed; talk with manager planned for 15/10.
• Interventions: restructuring an automatic thought, role play of the meeting.
• Next session: 21/10/2026, review of the meeting.
• Admin: remaining sessions reminded (4 planned); attested on 07/10/2026.

Common mistakes

• Starting treatment without a written functional assessment. Only the support function does without one.
• Attesting too late. The deadline counts from the month of the session: an October session must be attested by 5 January. After that, it cannot be billed.
• Forgetting to state the remaining sessions. Article 11 asks you to tell the patient.

Why Delta fits this case

Delta is the clinical assistant that keeps the memory of each patient. During the session it transcribes what is said; afterwards, you can dictate your observations. It produces the session report (short summary, detailed summary, topics for next session), updates the follow-up summary and goals, and drafts the end-of-pathway letter in your own wording.

Delta is not approved by INAMI. It does no billing, no pseudocodes, no attestation in the web application and no official forms: those stay in your usual tools. Data stays in Europe, in France, on infrastructure certified for health data, and the patient's name is pseudonymised before the AI. See also our pages on GDPR for psychologists in Belgium and on choosing psychologist software in Belgium, or Delta for psychologists.

Sources

• INAMI, Providing first-line psychological care through a mental health network (French) (consulted 05/11/2026).
• INAMI, model agreement between the network and the clinical psychologist or orthopedagogue (French) (in force 01/04/2024 to 31/12/2026).
• INAMI, first-line psychological care fee schedule from 01/01/2026 (French).
• INAMI, mental health networks FAQ for professionals (French) (version of 11/05/2022, 2021 agreement).
• Psychologists Commission, The patient record (French) (laws of 22/08/2002 and 22/04/2019).