Psychotherapy is a sensible kind of work that helps to avoid crises. If you have not yet been successful in starting it, or if you are completely overwhelmed by your situation, immediate help is needed. Below is a list of possible sources to contact in acute emergencies. The most important thing here is for you to try to break through your isolation and reach out to other people.

If you should have an emergency during normal business hours, or can wait until doctor’s surgeries open, a good possibility is to go to a general practitioner (primary care physician) whom you trust, or to meet with a psychiatrist. Alternatively, you can first turn to another person in whom you can confide. Speak to relatives or friends if it is possible.

In what follows, you will find further places to get help in a crisis. Admittedly, the selection is a bit arbitrary and by no means exhaustive. Nonetheless, I wanted to get across the fact that there are many people who are happy to help you in an emergency.

The Phone Chaplaincy is there for everyone: young and old, employees, stay-at-home spouses, apprentices and retirees, people of every kind of faith community and of course also for people of no faith. More than 1.5 million conversations are had each year, toll free and around the clock.

This is because cares can weigh heavy and are not dependent on the time of day. For this reason, we also offer an open ear in the middle of the night. Our staff are aware of the responsibility attached to their work and take each call seriously—no matter the time of day.

Help by chat and e-mail as well

In addition to classic help over the phone, the chaplaincy also provides support via e-mail and chat.

Are you sick, but the doctor’s surgery is closed? Is your illness not life-threatening, but you cannot wait until the surgery opens?

GPs and specialists can help you at the On-Call Duty.

You can either visit the on-call duty surgery that is open in your vicinity or call 116 117. The responders at that number know the doctors in your area, and can send one to make a home visit in case of need.

Quick and uncomplicated help

You receive the medical help you need. The medical on-call duty cares for patients on public insurance plans as well as private.

The Psychiatric Institute Outpatient Clinic (PIA) offers outpatient treatment for psychological and psychosomatic illnesses. This offering is aimed primarily at patients who need a great amount of care and/or multi-professional care from physicians and other non-medical specialists, or for whom no other sufficient treatments offerings are available.

The treatment team of doctors, psychologists, nurses and care providers, social education workers, physician assistants, and ergonomic and sports therapists provide the whole gamut of outpatient psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatment.

Around-the-clock emergency availability

In case of emergencies outside the PIA’s office hours, you can go to the main reception of the psychiatry and psychotherapy clinic at Regensburg Regional Hospital (Bezirksklinikum).

"I can’t take it anymore. Nothing makes sense, so I don’t want to live anymore." Many people deal with such thoughts. The reasons for such doubts are manifold: burdensome life experiences, conflict with one’s partner or within one’s family, losses, separations, problems at work, depression, fear, and loneliness.

Family members, relatives, and friends are often overburdened in such cases and look for quick help. Professional help in the nick of time and knowledge about the possibilities of assistance can save lives. Horizon Crisis Service is a psychological counselling centre for suicide prevention that has been offering professional assistance to people in acute suicidal crises and those in their circles since 1987.

Independent of people’s own faith or lack thereof, Diakonie Regensburg offers a contact point for people affected by psychological illness, as well as for family members of such persons who might also need support and advice. In addition to personal counselling, there are many other additional services on offer. What you receive here is straightforward support that can help you through tough times.

Spiritual illness or disturbance can affect each and every one of us. Often, it is not possible to climb out of that dark hole in such cases.

Diakonie Regensburg’s contact point can help affected adults in a variety of ways: through counselling, support, and group offerings. Relatives of people afflicted with such spiritual stresses can also avail themselves of this help, which is open to all persons free of charge and regardless of religious affiliation. All who work here are required to maintain confidentiality.

The offerings of Diakonie Regensburg Social Psychiatric Service are aimed at persons aged between 18–60. For those over 60, there is the Geronto-Psychiatric Service, which specialises in care for such patients.

Three different areas fall under the umbrella of the Psychological Counselling Centre:

Family counselling and advice on child rearing for parents, youth, and children;

Life, marital, and relationship counselling;

Family counselling at court in cases of separation and divorce.

The team working at the counselling centre have many years of professional experience. In addition to their primary occupation (e.g., as a psychologist, social education worker, or marital counsellor), most workers have also completed supplementary training in psychotherapy, and all are required to maintain patient confidentiality. Subject-specific dialogue in terms of supervision or case discussion serves as part of the qualification in our training. Taking advantage of the Psychological Counselling Centre’s offerings is generally free, but donations towards the cost of the centre are also welcome.

KISS stands for “Contact and Information Point for Self-Help” (Kontakt- und Informationsstelle für Selbsthilfe) and is a hub bringing together interested persons, subject-matter specialists, and self-help groups. Such groups can be a sensible way to spend the time while one is waiting to get a spot in therapy, and during therapy can be a meaningful support.

In Regensburg, there are over 350 self-help groups and initiatives in a wide variety of fields of engagement. An overview of these can be found in the “Upper Palatinate Self-Help Guide” (Selbsthilfewegweiser Oberpfalz); additionally, KISS offers an online search engine for self-help groups