Advisory services

Our Aids centres offer diverse counselling services, which we present in the following:

Personal counselling

Personal counselling offers you the opportunity to talk to a counsellor face to face.

The counselling is free of charge. You can make an appointment by calling your local Aids centre.

During the personal counselling session, you can ask all your questions about HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted infections. If you are HIV-positive, we are also happy to advise you on problems which arise as part of everyday life and regarding social and legal issues.

Possible topics include:

•     Fear of possible infection with HIV or another sexually transmitted infection
•     Difficulties in dealing with HIV, for example within the family or at work
•     Financial difficulties and social protection options

Our counsellors can also provide you with addresses of other services in your area, such as self-help groups.

Telephone counselling

The telephone counselling service provided by the Aids help centres is available at the standard nationwide number 0180 33 19411 (9 cents/min. from all German networks). You can reach us from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. You can remain anonymous when you call.

Our counsellors are experienced staff members of Aids support organisations from all over Germany. They receive intensive training to ensure that their knowledge and skills are always up-to-date.

The counsellors are available to answer all your questions about HIV/Aids

• Personal counselling options in your vicinity
• Ways to get tested for HIV
• Emergency measures after an HIV infection risk (see also Safer Sex Accident/PEP)
• Aids centres, self-help groups, HIV specialists and other services in your city or region.

Online counselling

confidential - reliable - competent

You can reach the free online counselling service of the German Aids Service Organisation and its member organisations at www.aidshilfe-beratung.de. You will receive counselling from qualified staff members of the Aids support organisations throughout Germany.

Online counselling enables you to ask your questions online in your own time. You can remain completely anonymous. The counsellors will answer your questions as soon as possible, often on the same day.

In the case of more complicated issues, you can stay in contact with a counsellor for a longer period of time. If you wish, a staff member who is HIV-positive will advise you.

The security of your data is important. All staff members will treat your enquiry with absolute confidentiality. The services are provided in line with the current standards of data protection. This includes encrypting your data to ensure that third parties cannot access it.