Book, write or wait

Find free times

Every counsellor profile has the box “Book a first session”. If you have already had a session with this counsellor, it is called “Book an appointment”, and you book a follow-up session. It shows the free times for the next few days, sorted by day. If there are many times on one day, you show the rest with “… more times”. All times are in German time.

Above that it says how long the first session lasts and what it costs. If the counsellor is on holiday, it says from when appointments are free again. You will rarely find anything at very short notice, because counsellors plan in some lead time.

Choose a time. The form then opens. For an overview of the whole process, see How online counselling works.

The form

You only need a pseudonym and a password:

• Pseudonym: This is what your counsellor calls you. Letters, numbers, spaces, full stops, hyphens and underscores are allowed. If it is already taken, choose another one, perhaps with a number added.
• Password: at least 10 characters, entered twice.
• Email for reminders: optional. Leaving it empty is fine.
• What is it about? Also optional. A keyword is enough. Only your counsellor reads it.

Then comes a short human check. Your browser solves a small maths problem, without cookies and without outside servers. Finally you confirm that you have read the privacy information and tap “Book an appointment”.

If you are already signed in, you skip the pseudonym and password.

After booking

If you are booking for the first time, you then see “Your appointment is booked” and, once, your recovery code. Write it down before you tap “I have written down the code”. What you need it for is explained under Account and security.

Then you are in your room. Your appointment is shown there, and from there you join the video session. If you entered an email address, you get a link to confirm it. Only after that does onlineberatung.digital send you reminders.

You can only have one first session open at a time. You book a new one when the first is over or cancelled. You book follow-up sessions the same way, one after the other.

Cancelling

If you cannot make it, cancel the appointment in your room: in the “Appointments” box, tap “Cancel appointment”. Cancelling a first session costs nothing. Your counsellor gets a short email about it. You can cancel until the appointment starts. If it has already started, send your counsellor a short message in the room.

Your counsellor can also cancel an appointment. It then shows as “declined” in your room. With a confirmed email address you get a short email about it. You look for a new time on the counsellor profile again.

Write first

If you would rather write first, tap “Write anonymously” on the counsellor profile. Write what is on your mind. A few sentences are enough, you do not have to put anything in order. Below that is the same form as for booking. Then tap “Send message”.

Your room is created with the first message. You will find the reply there. If you already have a room with this counsellor, the conversation continues there.

Waiting list

If no times are available right now, the counsellor profile shows “Join the waiting list”. You sign up with a pseudonym and password, just like when booking.

You can see your entries under “My room” in the “Waiting list” box. When times are free again, it says “Times are available again”. With a confirmed email address you also get an email. Whoever books first gets the appointment. Sometimes your counsellor also opens a room for you and writes to you. With “Leave the list” you take yourself off the list. If you book with the counsellor or write to them, your entry disappears by itself.

Tip: Waiting is hard when you are not doing well. onlineberatung.digital is not an emergency service. Telefonseelsorge (German crisis line), free of charge, day and night: 0800 111 0 111 or 0800 111 0 222. In an emergency: 112 (emergency number in Germany).

With an invitation code

If you have already been to a counselling centre in person, your counsellor can give you an invitation code. With it you continue online. You redeem it under Redeem invitation, choose a pseudonym and password and tap “Open room”. The code works only once and only for a short time. What you discussed in person stays with your counselling centre.

There is also a code for a second person, for example in couples counselling. More on this under Counselling for two.