The district association of the Bavarian Red Cross (BRK) is doing common cause with the psychotherapeutic university outpatient department of the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich.
The two institutions have pooled their knowledge and resources to set up a free corona crisis telephone.
Bad Tölz - Anyone who suffers from the current situation will find an open ear and help with problem solving on the BRK and Bundeswehr University crisis hotline.
On the phone, among others, the psychologist and psychological psychotherapist Patricia Grabmaier-Kulla (35) advises.
Ms. Grabmaier-Kulla, how did you come to work with the BRK Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen?
Patricia Grabmaier-Kulla:
My father, who is active at the BRK Bad Tölz, told me how stressful the medical staff is in the corona pandemic.
The nurses in the hospital are practically working their way up.
Our work as therapists, on the other hand, has hardly changed.
That is why we thought about whether we could make a contribution to the relief at the psychotherapeutic university outpatient department.
A collaboration with the BRK was an obvious choice.
The BRK is an established player in the medical-social field and has the appropriate infrastructure.
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Patricia Grabmaier-Kulla is a psychologist and therapist.
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How many people are calling on average?
Patricia Grabmaier-Kulla:
We now have three to four callers a week.
At first, people apparently mistook us for other Corona phone numbers.
We received complaints about outstanding test results.
We have also been mistaken for the emergency number.
But now our offer is being accepted by those to whom it is aimed.
What worries are the callers pressing?
Patricia Grabmaier-Kulla:
Many callers work in the medical field or in care facilities.
They are massively overwhelmed and report that they haven't had a day to rest for weeks.
In addition, there are people who are very stressed because, for example, their income has lost or because they have problems in their partnership.
Some of them are very desperate.
Some of her problems existed before Corona, but the lockdown works like a burning glass.
People no longer have a buffer to absorb additional stress.
In addition, parents call who are concerned about their children.
They report that their children are listless, no longer feel joy and just sit on the couch.
How do you help?
Patricia Grabmaier-Kulla:
By listening.
We tell the caller that it is understandable that he is ill.
We do classic telephone crisis intervention as you know it from telephone counseling.
And we help to find and sort suitable offers of help.
Sometimes we have several conversations with one person.
We notice whether it is an acute experience of being overwhelmed or a problem that requires treatment.
Can that be solved on the phone?
Patricia Grabmaier-Kulla:
We can often catch an acute
experience of being overwhelmed
on the phone at short notice.
Because it is a relief to talk to someone who has a different perspective.
We can develop strategies on how to improve the situation quickly, for example, to structure everyday life differently or perhaps to better give the child to emergency care.
What do you do with those who have a problem that needs treatment?
Patricia Grabmaier-Kulla:
We may be able to offer them a therapy place at our psychotherapeutic university outpatient clinic.
Here we treat patients with all disorders.
The more flexible the patient, the faster we can offer a place.
The crisis hotline
can be reached Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on 0 80 41/76 55 98.
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