Table 3 Warning signals for a preventable severe course (“red flags”) (based on 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11).

Suicidal tendencies

Serious psychological co-morbidities (e.g. severe depressive episode(s), anxiety symptoms which prevent the patient from leaving the house)

Indications of serious self-harming behaviour (insisting on surgery) and/or iatrogenic intervention

Very severe symptoms resulting in physical damage: fixated on unhelpful/harmful behaviour, strong weight gain, limited mobility

Presence of well-known warning signals for somatically defined disease (cf. guidelines for somatic disciplines)