There are several counseling and mental health services available for PhD researchers. Here, we list only some of them but you can find all the services divided according to topic on the university's website on Counseling, Advising, and Support Services at Freie Universität Berlin.

• Open Door Offices, the so-called Support.Points, where you can talk to professional psychologists and ask for help.

• Contact Office for Research Integrity and List of Ombudspersons: https://www.fu-berlin.de/sites/gwp/ansprechpersonen/index.html
• External Conflict Counseling through Dahlem Research School: beratung@drs.fu-berlin.de
• Further Conflict Counselors for PhDs: see Ombudsperson
  
• Sexual Discrimination, Harassment and Violence: no-means-no@fu-berlin.de
• Counselling service for students with disabilities or chronic illnesses: beratung-barrierefrei@zuv.fu-berlin.de
• Other and Psychological Counseling: psychologische-beratung@fu-berlin.de

You can find more individual counselling services listed on the Dahlem Research School Website. 

Mental Health

Stress resilience and mental health are central issues while conducting a long-term project like a doctorate - crises and challenges are normal during this process. Apart from workshop offers of Dahlem Research School and the Berlin University Alliance to strengthen your persistence and successfully deal with such challenges further information and advice is available:

• The Support.Points and psychological counselling at Freie Universität offers individual advice, training and workshop

The staff consists of licensed psychological psychotherapists and psychologists in training to become psychotherapists. As a matter of course, the psychologists of the counselling service are required to maintain confidentiality regarding the matters you discuss with them. Freie Universität Berlin offers individual counselling, training courses, and workshops. The staff members are licensed psychological psychotherapists or graduate psychologists in training to become psychological psychotherapists. The psychologists are bound by professional secrecy and will of course treat your concerns confidentially..

• Berlin Institute of Health: Supporting Mental Health During Pandemics

Guides for promoting the mental health of early career researchers (ECRs) are written for PIs and supervisors, and for ECRs themselves by the Quest Center for Responsible Research and its community partners.

• Einstein Foundation: ScholarMinds

A self-organized initiative of doctoral students at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin who share resources, survey the status quo and organize mental health events to promote awareness and destigmatize mental health struggles.

• Studierendenwerk Berlin:

The Studierendenwerk counsels on financing studies, studying with children, provides counselling on academic writing, provides psychological counselling, is a contractual partner for the KfW student loan and supports studying with special needs.