Support Services

Here you’ll find crisis services and counselling centres in Berlin. They are there for situations in which you need help right away, or a different kind of support than I can offer in my practice: in a mental health crisis, with violence, with worries in the family and with addiction.

Most of these services counsel free of charge and confidentially, many also anonymously. If you don’t know what to do right now, the Berliner Krisendienst (Berlin crisis service) is the first number to call: it is available around the clock on +49 30 39063-40, and the call costs nothing. You don’t need an appointment or a referral. If a life is in immediate danger, always call the emergency number 112.

Mental health crises and grief

• Berliner Krisendienst – phone +49 30 39063-40 – www.berliner-krisendienst.de
  Berlin’s crisis service for psychosocial crises and acute psychiatric emergencies.
• AGUS – Angehörige um Suizid – phone +49 921 150 03 80 – www.agus-selbsthilfe.de
  For people bereaved by suicide: here, those who have lost someone close to them through suicide meet in self-help groups.

Help for women facing violence or crisis

• Frauenkrisentelefon e. V. – phone +49 30 6154243
  A crisis line for women. You can call when you are in a difficult situation or in acute crisis. On the phone you’ll also find out which other services can help.
• LARA – Fachstelle gegen sexualisierte Gewalt an Frauen – phone +49 30 216 88 88
  A specialist centre against sexual violence towards women. Crisis counselling, also for relatives, plus group sessions. LARA helps you find a place in therapy. A first legal consultation with a lawyer is free of charge.
• Frauen für Frauen in Konflikt- und Gewaltsituationen e. V. – phone +49 30 4484528
  “Women for women in situations of conflict and violence”: this specialist counselling and intervention centre is there for women who experience violence at home.
• FRIEDA-Frauenzentrum e. V. – phone +49 30 4224276
  A women’s centre where you can get advice on stalking, including online stalking. The centre also offers psychosocial counselling and help with conflicts. If you have questions about legal matters, social benefits or unemployment, this is also the right place.

Family, pregnancy and parenthood

• Erziehungs- und Familienberatung Berlin – www.efb-berlin.de
  Parenting and family counselling in Berlin, in crises and when a child’s welfare is at risk. You can also reach the counsellors by phone and online.
• Caritasverband – Erziehungs- und Familienberatung – phone +49 30 66 633 470
  Parenting and family counselling run by Caritas. For families where there is a lot of conflict or the strain is getting too much, and for questions about bringing up children. Couples who want to change something in their relationship, or who are separating, can also get in touch. The counselling takes intercultural questions into account.
• Beratungsstelle Familienzelt – phone +49 30 32 23 071
  A counselling centre that supports you through pregnancy, birth and the early days with your child. You can also come here after a miscarriage or stillbirth.
• SOS-Kinderdorf Familienzentrum Berlin – phone +49 30 568910-0
  Counselling during pregnancy and with babies and toddlers, including when your baby cries a lot. Parents can come alone or as a couple, also with questions about sexuality or when they are separating. There are separate services for children and young people.

Addiction and support for relatives

• Berliner Initiative gegen Medikamentenmissbrauch (Berlin initiative against the misuse of medication) – www.berlin-suchtpraevention.de
• Addiction self-help – www.dhs.de/suchthilfe/sucht-selbsthilfe
  An overview of self-help groups and services for addiction.
• Support for relatives – www.apk-berlin.de
  Services for relatives of people with mental illness.
• Self-advocacy organisations – bpe-online.de
  An association run by and for people with experience of psychiatry.
• Counselling on drugs and chemsex in Berlin – sidekicks.berlin/beratung-drogen-chemsex

I can’t accept liability for these details. If a number or link is no longer correct, please let me know briefly via the contact form. I’ll then correct it.