Emergency Contacts & Mediation

When do I need personal, professional support (by phone or in person)?

Who will help me in a crisis?

You can find the right support via the following emergency contact addresses.

Even though it often feels that way in the heat of a crisis – you are not alone! There are numerous competent support services that can help you promptly and professionally.

Here are our emergency contact details:

Professional separation (or divorce) mediation (online)

When a couple, or even just one partner, decides to separate (or divorce), in addition to the painful emotional strain, there are also a number of legal and practical problems to resolve. Professional separation (or divorce) mediation can prevent a grueling and bitter custody battle, allowing both partners to continue looking each other in the eye and each to look to the future with confidence.

What's wrong with me?

Anyone can fall into a crisis – regardless of age, gender, origin or social status.

A severe loss, unemployment, conflicts in partnerships, families or at work, a traumatic experience, but also moving house or the birth of a child can turn the world upside down and trigger a crisis.

Those affected often no longer recognize themselves – they experience themselves as anxious, desperate, and deeply insecure; they feel without prospects, incapable of action or decision-making. There seem to be no solutions whatsoever for their pressing problems.

Many people experience a crisis at some point in their lives.

Mental illnesses such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, addictions, or anxiety can also trigger a mental health crisis. In Germany alone, more than 6 million people suffer from depression, and almost twice as many from anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. None of us are immune to significant life events and unforeseen changes. Against this backdrop, it is not surprising that roughly one in three of us will experience a mental health crisis at some point in our lives.

Crises are almost always experienced as threatening – most people reach the limits of their physical and mental resilience and find themselves in an unprecedented state of emergency. Behavioral and coping strategies that had previously proven effective no longer work. This leads to profound insecurity. The affected person often feels like the proverbial 'beetle on its back'.

Crisis and opportunity are closely linked

On the other hand, despair and hope, hopelessness and reorientation are closely intertwined.

If the person affected manages to turn around and escape the perceived dead end, to look beyond their limitations and broaden their perspective, the crisis can become a genuine opportunity. A successfully overcome crisis often leads to a long-term improvement in quality of life and a gain in self-confidence – namely, when – after the initial despair – the realm of new ideas and possibilities has been explored.

In any case, quick help is essential!

However, every effort should always be made to bring about an internal (and/or external) turnaround in the crisis situation as quickly as possible and to mobilize the buried strengths and the lost creativity of the person affected in a timely manner.

If the crisis persists for too long, there is a risk that resignation and despondency will become entrenched. This can lead to long-term psychological and social problems.

However, if the person affected feels supported and accompanied in a timely manner, there is a high probability that they will ultimately emerge from the crisis strengthened and with positive impulses.

Professional help or support from the social environment?

Through close contact and intensive exchange with trusted people from one's own social environment, crises can sometimes be overcome even without professional support.

However, if support from friends and family is insufficient, action should be taken as soon as possible and expert assistance should be sought.

The "first aid" for people in a mental crisis should be provided in as unbureaucratic a manner as possible.

To find the appropriate local support service or, as a first step, a competent telephone contact person, the links listed above can provide initial guidance.

With expert therapeutic support, most people in a mental crisis situation are able to broaden their narrow 'tunnel vision', develop realistic goals, discover existing resources - and ultimately change their own situation for the better and strengthen their personal resilience.

Important to know:

Having sought appropriate help during an acute crisis is, with some distance, often no longer perceived by those affected as a weakness, but rather as a strength and a sign of self-care.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us by email: [email protected]