Organizational Information

Location

I offer relationship counseling in Berlin and online.

For counseling in presence, I currently use a room in Kreuzberg near Bergmannstraße (U-Bahn Mehringdamm or Platz der Luftbrücke).

The room is on the second floor and can be accessed via a lift.

Barriers: To reach the entrance door, you must cross a cobblestone courtyard (there are also parking spots there that can be used for a fee; one is usually available, though not always). Both entrance doors are 98 cm wide and the one on the ground floor has a small metal threshold. The elevator door is 1.10 m wide. Unfortunately, the restroom doors are only 56 cm wide, and in the largest restroom, the space between the toilet and the urinal is only 40 x 75 cm.

Duration and Fee

A counselling session for two persons lasts 80 minutes at a cost of €160.

A one-on-one session lasts 50 minutes at a cost of 100€.

If we work in a bigger constellation, we will have to find out together if 80 minutes or a longer duration are best for allowing everyone to be heard well. For a first session to get to know each other and explore counseling needs and objectives with more than two persons, I schedule 1h50 and charge 200€.

I also usually offer one solidarity slot for €60 per session plus room rental if the session is held offline. It is intended for constellations whose average income is not far above Grundsicherung/Bürgergeld/ALG II level. If there are large income differences in your relationship, I recommend splitting the costs according to income. If you are interested, please ask me if the slot is currently available.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel less than 24 hours before the appointment, the full fee is due. It is usually possible to switch from an offline to an online session at short notice but might require moving the appointment a bit forwards or backwards depending on other appointments.

Contact and getting started with counseling

I welcome inquiries via email (see Contact Information for details). We can clarify shorter questions, e.g., about me, counseling topics, etc., free of charge via email or phone.

Once you have decided to proceed, the counseling will begin with an initial appointment to get to know each other. Of course, this appointment does not commit you to continuing, but serves to explore whether and how we would wish to work with each other.

By making an appointment, you agree with the conditions explained on this page, especially regarding prices, cancellation and switching from in-person to online in case of infectious sickness.

Constellations

Couples Counseling or Counseling in a Two-on-One Setting

Relationship counseling typically takes place in a two-on-one setting, and training programs in couples counseling/therapy prepare for such settings. The advantage is that this way we can focus on the shared dynamics and better incorporate the different perspectives than in individual counseling. And the dynamics are usually less complex than in larger group settings, and many relationship issues unfold within two-person dynamics, even in polyamorous relationships.

One-on-One Counseling on Relationship Topics

I also offer individual counseling on relationship topics if, for example, you’d like to reflect on past relationships or relationship patterns and the people involved aren’t available for joint counseling, if you’re dealing with multiple concurrent relationships that don’t lend themselves to be addressed in a joint session, or if you want to talk about decisions regarding future relationships.

However, before pursuing this setting, you should be aware that transitioning from individual counseling to counseling in a couple or several-person setting is usually no longer (easily) possible after about two sessions, because by then one person has typically gained too much of a head start to establish a symmetrical counseling relationship in which all perspectives are given equal consideration. Sometimes this can be balanced out by adding individual sessions with the other person(s) involved, and sometimes it cannot.

In addition, therapeutic work on relationship patterns is also part of standard psychotherapy, which is covered by health insurance, whereas counseling with me must be paid for privately.

If neither of these is an obstacle, I’m happy to offer individual sessions as well. Sometimes these sessions can also focus on exploring other options and considering the next steps—whether to pursue individual therapy covered by insurance with another therapist or individual or relationship counseling involving two or more people with me.

Counseling for polycules, polyamorous, or relationship-anarchist constellations involving more than two persons

I am also happy to provide counseling for polycules, polyamorous, or relationship-anarchist constellations involving more than two people in a multi-person setting, if the issues affect more than two persons and you want to explore the shared dynamics together.

I suggest that we use the first one or two sessions to work out a shared understanding of the counseling needs and objectives, and then discuss which constellations or sequence of constellations would be most helpful for the process.

Confidentiality

I treat all information confidentially from the very first email. Regarding the usual risks associated with email communication, please make your own judgment about what you wish to share with me via email. If you’d like, we can exchange encryption keys.

Checking overlaps in our private or professional lives

If you know or suspect that we have overlaps in our private or professional lives, please let me know. Then we can check together if they could cause concerns for working together and, if we decide to go ahead, come to agreements on how to prevent or handle them. Of course, I will treat your inquiry confidentially even if our personal or professional lives happen to overlap.

Close Overlaps with Other Clients

If you know that I am already counseling other persons who are very close to you, we should check whether this could be an impediment or how we might address any resulting challenges—especially if the counseling topics overlap. In such cases, obtaining the explicit consent of the persons I am already working with is important to me. Once they have agreed, I still need to assess for myself whether I see any obstacles. Therefore, please inform me of such overlaps as early as possible. In most cases, I do not see this as an obstacle if the other counseling process has already been completed.

Languages

I work in German and English. You can find the German version of this site at https://katharina-debus.de/beziehungsberatung/rahmeninformationen.

I understand French very well, but I am a little out of practice and have not yet acquired the technical vocabulary for relationship counseling. However, a mixture of French and either German or English would be very possible.

Sign language interpreters are welcome. Unfortunately, I do not know sign language myself.

Infection prevention

For health reasons, in offline sessions I will work with an air filter and a mask. You are welcome to wear a mask or not, however you prefer. If you have a potentially contagious infection, please let me know in advance so that we can conduct the session online.