How online counselling works

Find counselling

On onlineberatung.digital you will find counselling centres and counsellors. You can search by your city, by topic and by language. Many centres are responsible for your city, some for the whole of Germany.

Every counsellor profile says who is counselling, how they work and what the counselling costs. At counselling centres it is usually free.

Book an appointment or write first

You have two options:

• Book a first session. You choose a free time and write briefly what it is about. The session takes place by video.
• Write first. You send a message. Your counsellor replies in your room.

If all times are taken right now, you can put yourself on the waiting list.

Pseudonym and password

You do not need a name, a phone number or an email address. You only choose a pseudonym and a password. Your counsellor also only knows your pseudonym.

After that, onlineberatung.digital shows you your recovery code once. Write it down, ideally on paper or in a password manager. If you forget your password, you use it to set a new one. If the code is lost too, your counsellor gives you new access to your account. How this works is explained under Account and security.

An email address is optional. With it you get reminders of your appointments. The emails never say what your counselling is about.

Your room

After booking you have your own room with your counsellor. There you will find:

• your messages,
• your appointments, which you can also cancel there,
• the way into the video session,
• your whiteboards, if you draw together.

You get into your room via “Sign in” at the top right, also on your phone. You do not need an app. If you like, you can use the Beratungsraum app on iPhone or iPad.

The video session

Open your room shortly before the appointment. It tells you how to join the session. Depending on your counsellor, the video runs directly in the room or via a separate link, for example to Zoom.

Tip: Find a quiet place where nobody can hear you. Headphones make the session more pleasant for you and for others.

If it is urgent

onlineberatung.digital is not an emergency service. If you are in a very bad way right now, call the Telefonseelsorge (German crisis line): 0800 111 0 111 or 0800 111 0 222, free of charge, day and night. In an emergency, call 112 (emergency number in Germany).