Mental health

Coping mental health challenges with the support of the SBK

Inner emptiness, lack of drive, and anxiety can have very different causes. They range from stress and performance pressure to traumatic experiences, major life events, and medical reasons. All of these causes have one thing in common: participation in working and social life is significantly impaired. Many affected people ask themselves what is going on: Am I just going through a crisis, or am I ill? What can I do for myself? Friends and family can be initial points of contact. For many people, the family doctor’s practice is also a good first place to seek professional help.

Overview of services

We support you on your path toward psychotherapy

Immediate psychological help for young people

For more relaxation in everyday life

Use our extensive range of health courses for prevention

We fully cover the costs of outpatient psychotherapeutic treatment in approved psychotherapy and medical practices.

Your personal SBK consultant will support you in finding a therapy place.

Help with mental health problems

The causes and signs of mental illnesses are diverse, as are the support options available. Therapy is not always the first step. Above all, it is advisable not to deal with problems and conflicts only on your own. If possible, talk about them with someone you trust.

One of the most important points of contact—also for mental health—is the family doctor’s practice. As a rule, your GP knows you well, can advise you, and rule out physical causes. If necessary, further measures can be initiated, such as a referral to a psychotherapeutic or psychiatric practice. In addition, depending on your individual mental strain, there are many other support options for self-help:

Many employees feel mentally strained at times—or even continuously—primarily due to work-related factors. Triggers can vary widely, ranging from feelings of being overwhelmed and time pressure to problems with colleagues or managers.

This may also change other habits, for example leading to an unhealthy diet or increased alcohol consumption. Partnerships can also suffer.

On the one hand, employers are of course responsible for creating healthy working conditions so that employees can feel mentally well. On the other hand, individuals always have the opportunity to influence various factors themselves, possibly reassess them, and in this way contribute to regaining more enjoyment at work.

Further information:

A systematic look at the various influencing factors, as well as numerous tips and suggestions for possible starting points, can be found in the psyga project, a broad initiative focusing on mental health in the working world. You can find more information here.

Mental illnesses place very special burdens on families and friendships. Recognizing a possible illness in the first place, addressing the issue, and then accompanying relatives through the ups and downs of the illness is an enormous challenge.

This applies equally to depression or anxiety disorders as well as to schizophrenia or addiction. In the process, one’s own mental health is often put to the test. In such situations, it can help to seek support oneself and to be aware that one cannot take over responsibility.

Relatives can find support, for example, in relevant self-help groups or counseling centers. Exchanging experiences with others affected and/or looking at the situation together with a counselor can pave the way to a different way of dealing with it and lead to lasting personal relief.

Further information:

An initial point of contact can be BApK (Bundesverband der Angehörigen psychisch Kranker – Federal Association of Relatives of People with Mental Illness). Here you can find comprehensive information, concrete contact points, and, for example, experience reports from other affected persons. BApK (Bundesverband der Angehörigen psychisch Kranker)

SeeleFon – Are you a relative of a person with a mental illness and currently unsure how to deal with your loved one in a mental health crisis?
Here you can find the counseling service of the Federal Association of Relatives of People with Mental Illness:
Phone: 0228 / 71002424 or 0180 / 5 950 951 (14 ct/min)
(Mon–Thu: 10 a.m.–12 p.m. and 2 p.m.–8 p.m., Fri: 10 a.m.–12 p.m. and 2 p.m.–6 p.m.)
or online (email and chat) at www.bapk.de/angebote/seelefon.html

Other self-help groups can be found nationwide via NAKOS.

This online counseling guide from DAJEB (German Association for Youth and Marriage Counseling) offers a ZIP code search and a topic-based search.

Alzheimer’s Helpline is a counseling service of the German Alzheimer Society – Self-Help Dementia, for relatives, affected persons, and professional helpers on the topic of dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease.
Phone: 030 / 259 37 95 14 (Mon–Thu: 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Fri: 9 a.m.–3 p.m.)

A chronic illness involves numerous restrictions for those affected. Since chronic illnesses are generally not curable, those affected must accept them for the rest of their lives. In addition, there are burdens caused by diagnosis, medical treatment, fears, and worries.

Alongside good specialist medical care, it can therefore be important to seek support in psychologically very stressful situations. This may include exchanging experiences with others affected. Self-help groups offer good starting points for this.

Psychotherapeutic approaches can then be used to treat accompanying conditions. Depression and anxiety are among the most common comorbidities, but post-traumatic stress reactions and panic attacks also occur more frequently. These further restrict patients’ quality of life beyond the limitations already caused by the chronic physical illness.

Further information:

You can obtain contact details for local self-help groups from NAKOS

Detailed information on psychotherapy can be found here.

Detailed information on cancer can be found here.

For parents, their children’s mental health problems are a very particular challenge. These children need special support and care, and it often takes a long time before a clear diagnosis is made. All of this requires strength and may trigger feelings of guilt and fear. It is therefore especially important to seek help early and to ensure that parents themselves are doing well.

Initial points of contact can be pediatric practices; specialist facilities for child and adolescent psychiatry are also available.

Local counseling centers for parents, specialized telephone counseling services, and online counseling are also available.

Further information:

“Nummer gegen Kummer” offers counseling via a parents’ helpline, available free of charge from landlines and mobile phones at 0800 111 0 550 (Mon–Fri 9–11 a.m., Tue and Thu 5–7 p.m.).

Parents who wish to receive online counseling can find the right address for questions and problems related to parenting at the

bke Parents’ Counseling website.

The brochure “Wahnsinnskinder” by BApK provides a good overview of various disorders and additional points of contact.

Comprehensive advice on media use for different age groups is offered by the parents’ guide SCHAU HIN.

Counseling services on media addiction can be found at the Association for Media Susceptibility (Fachverband für Medienanfälligkeit e.V.).

Extensive information, advice, and help on various forms of eating disorders is provided by ANAD e.V.

Eine Frau sitzt mit verschränkten Armen und nachdenklichem Gesichtsausdruck auf ihrem Sofa im Wohnzimmer.

Medical background researched for you

Aktionsbündnis Seelische Gesundheit

Stiftung Deutsche Depressionshilfe

Points of contact – online, by phone, and locally

We have compiled a selection of points of contact for you here.

Telephone Counseling
Telephone Counseling is a counseling and pastoral care service offered by the Protestant and Catholic churches, which also advises and supports people without religious affiliation.
TelefonSeelsorge

Counseling for affected persons
Here you will find the counseling services of the Federal Association of People with Psychiatric Experience: information on guardianship law, patients’ rights, accommodation law, and advance directives, as well as information and counseling on dealing with crises and crisis support.
Bundesverband Psychiatrie-Erfahrener e.V.

Depression Info Hotline
The info hotline provides information on illness and treatment as well as guidance on points of contact within the existing healthcare system.
Stiftung Deutsche Depressionshilfe

Crisis services and social psychiatric services in Germany
Here you will find a search function for nationwide crisis services near you.
Stiftung Deutsche Depressionshilfe

NAKOS
NAKOS is the nationwide information and referral center for self-help in Germany. Here you can also find self-help groups for mental health conditions.
NAKOS

Mental health

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