Getting mental health support

First orientation

In short

What this page is about

First-step orientation: compare a family doctor, 116117, psychotherapeutic consultation, counseling, and TelefonSeelsorge.

This may fit if

you do not know where to start in the German help system.

Looking for something else?

If you are not safe right now, urgent help matters more than an overview.

If you do just one thing

Sort your situation in the help compass.

Where you can start

Common first paths are a family doctor, 116117 (Germany’s medical on-call and appointment service. It is not an emergency number; call 112 in immediate danger.), a psychotherapeutic consultation hour, a counseling center, or TelefonSeelsorge. Which path fits depends on urgency and what you can manage right now.

You may seek help before it escalates

You do not have to wait until nothing works anymore. If your daily life suffers or you feel burdened for longer, a first contact makes sense.

Limits of this page

erstmalreden.de helps with sorting and wording. It does not replace counseling, therapy, diagnosis (A professional assessment by a qualified person. You do not always need a diagnosis before asking for help.), or emergency help.

Sources and notes

• gesund.bund.de: German national health portal
• Gesundheitsinformation.de / IQWiG: mental health problems – where to get help
• 116117: psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic consultation
• Federal Ministry of Health: psychotherapeutic consultation
• Wege zur Psychotherapie: information from German psychotherapist chambers

If you only wanted information

This guide may fit as a next step: I think something is wrong with me

If you want to try first contact

Use the sentence helper or copy one short sentence. First contact does not have to be perfect.

If it has become urgent

Then reading more is not the priority. Open urgent help or call 112 in Germany if there is immediate danger.