If you need urgent medical help, please call 112 or visit the closest emergency department.
In case of a crisis:
- The social psychiatric service of Berlin (Sozialpsychiatrische Dienste) offers support in all districts of Berlin from Monday to Friday, 08:00 – 16:00. Find the closest center to you here!
- Berlin Krisendienst offers phone support 24/7. You can also visit their centers without an appointment on weekdays from 16:00 – 24:00 and during weekends and holidays from 08:00 – 16:00. Find the closest center to you here!
For non-acute cases:
There are multiple places where students can seek psychotherapy or social counseling. Here is a list of services that you can approach, based on your affiliations:
- Charité services:
- Psychological counselling service of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
- Psychological counselling service of the Freie Universität Berlin
- Studentenwerk psychological-psychotherapeutic counseling
If you are looking for a psychotherapist, you might look at our guide for psychotherapy through public health insurance. Besides, you can use the therapist directory from The Associationof Counselors & Therapists (ACT Berlin), which provides the contact information of many therapists in Berlin. You might also want to take a look at this online tool to search for therapists based on your location, language, and other preferences.
If you just need someone to talk to, you can use the REDEZEIT FÜR DICH service. They offer support to people in stressful situations in a psychologically safe virtual space. The service is offered in several languages and free of charge for everyone.
Supporting Mental Health During Pandemics
In February 2021, the QUEST center at the Berlin Institute of Health held a virtual brainstorming event to develop guidelines for improving the mental health of early career researchers (ECRs) during the pandemic. Many community partners, including Scholar Minds, worked together to identify the main problems for mental health during the pandemic and proposed many solutions to tackle each of them. The event resulted in guidelines and strategies that speak to both ECRs and their supervisors. You can find these guidelines here.
To learn more about mental health in general and for PhD students in particular, please refer to our list of resources, and follow us on our social media accounts.
