A woman sits facing away from us on the edge of a body of water and looks over.

The Burden

Finding ways to master the crisis

Relatives and friends of people going through a mental crisis experience this as a heavy personal burden. By some, they may even be held responsible for the crisis themselves and become the target of serious allegations. This leads to helplessness, uncertainty and an inability to cope with the mentally ill person.

Family members and friends are only rarely equipped with extensive background knowledge about mental crises. The fact that even mainstream medicine does not have sufficient reliable knowledge and that there are contradictory treatment plans adds to a sense of insecurity. The ApK helps family members exchange the knowledge and experience they do have and to use it to their own advantage and empowerment.

Intelligent self-help increases our capacity for action.

In our work as an association of relatives and friends of people with a mental illness we reflect on emotions such as anxiety, grief, anger and feelings of guilt or shame to take them seriously and regard them as integral parts of an important process. We help relatives and friends to be more aware of their own level of stress. Our aim is to achieve empathic and emotionally intelligent self-help or self-care in order to help family and friends to develop or maintain their ability to act.

Please contact us and make use of our wide range of services - we will give you personal support in full confidentiality.

Your team at ApK Berlin