Free consultation hour in Gifhorn: Help for children in crises!

Free consultation hour in Gifhorn: Help for children in crises!

Gifhorn.The challenges in the mental health sector for children and adolescents are continuously increasing. The Gifhorn district reacts to this with a new, free help to offer support to the families concerned.

DAK health has published alarming numbers in its current “prevention radar 2024”. Accordingly, more and more children and adolescents are experiencing psychological complaints such as exhaustion, loneliness and fear -related crises. A report by the specialist magazine "Lancet Psychiatry", published in August of this year, points out that depression and fears are increasing worldwide in particular. These developments are worrying and require quick action.

First free consultation hour for affected children and adolescents

The demand for therapy places in child and adolescent psychotherapy has increased significantly since the end of Corona pandemic. This is also confirmed by the Lower Saxony Chamber of Psychotherapists. The current crises continue to strengthen the already stressful situation. Therefore, the district of Gifhorn introduces a new, free advisory initiative. From November, the child and adolescent medical service in cooperation with the AWO psychiatry center will offer an open consultation for children and adolescents with psychological stress every first Thursday of the month. The consultation hour takes place in the health department at Allstrasse 21 in Gifhorn.

"This offer is aimed at families whose children are mentally stressed and should serve as low-threshold help," explains Kristina Six, head of the pediatric and adolescent service. Health Director Rolf Amelsberg emphasizes the importance of this initiative: "The consultation hour enables you to talk about the child's concerns and needs in a protected framework and to receive initial help." This measure is crucial to support the families concerned promptly.

Determination and expansion of the offer

For more efficient planning, the speech hours are limited, and three appointments per consultation hour are initially planned. The child and adolescent medical service has set itself the goal of raising the actual need in the district and expanding the advisory service if necessary. Affected families can only register via the e-mail address Offenesprechstunde@gifhorn.de, whereby they should indicate the age of their child and a brief description of the concern. The first consultation will take place on Thursday, November 7th.

The health department thus reacts to an increasing need in the field of mental health of young people. Further information on this new initiative and other developments in the Gifhorn district are to find here.