Parenting and Family Guidance Service

General information

Perhaps there is conflict within the family? Or perhaps your child is in a difficult stage of development? Maybe you have unanswered questions and you are feeling helpless, unhappy or confused.

You’ve already asked friends and others, you have tried to make changes on your own, but still you have not yet found what you feel is a good enough solution.

Children and young people are often unable to put into words what is wrong. However, they can show us that there is a difficulty in other ways such as through delays in their developmental, behavioural insecurities, becoming quiet and withdrawn, or through physical complaints.

Parents themselves also often feel under enormous pressure. It is common to feel worried or guilty about the situation.

Common topics

• Has my child met their expected developmental milestones? Are we bringing them up correctly?
• How can we manage with our baby who cries a lot and finds it very hard to settle?
• Are our children spending too much time on the computer?
• What should we do about our child’s worsening performance at school? How can we support our child better?
• How can I best manage the responsibilities (and my energies) as a single parent?
• Is there a way out of the fighting in our relationship or is separating the only solution? What would happen with our children if we separated?
• Will our bilingual child make friends at nursery / kindergarten and at school?
• How can our family cope with unemployment?

A new way forward

Talking about problems isn’t always helpful. Sometimes partners or other family members try to put the blame on one person. Or perhaps well-meaning friends and neighbours are being critical of your parenting? It might just be that you don’t feel that the help and support others can provide is enough or has the advice you are looking for.

In such situations it can be important to have someone who can understand your problems, who will listen to you in confidence, and who is able to look together with you to find new perspectives and solutions.

Our service provides you with a protected, non-judgemental space for you to discuss how to move forward.

Let’s talk

What we can offer you:

• Information, support and advice, diagnostic assessments, as well as Psychotherapeutic work with children and young people, parents, families, couples, etc.
• Groups for children and groups for parents.
• Support to other important people in the child’s life (e.g. foster carers, educators, teachers)

Who are we?

Our counselling team is comprised of licensed psychologists, social workers and child and adolescent psychotherapists.

To access our service, your child must live in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. The help we provide is confidential and free of charge.You can speak to us anonymously if you wish.

You can find an overview of the Parenting Guidance services in Berlin and what each of them offers at www.EFB-Berlin.de.

Further information:

• www.bke-jugendberatung.de – Virtual guidance clinic for young people themselves(in German) from the “Bundeskonferenz für Erziehungsberatung (bke; Federal Conference for Parenting Guidance)”

• www.bke-elternberatung.de www.bke-elternberatung.de – advice for parents (in German)