Frequently Asked Questions

Our therapy program is designed for you if you want to process painful experiences, trauma, or long-term sadness by focusing on the deep causes of the problem and changing patterns of behavior and thinking.

Our counseling program focuses on the present and helps you find practical ways to cope with a specific problem.

You can visit our ‘I need help’ page to find out more about the different programs.

If you are unsure, please register for our therapy program. One of our therapists will help you find the right treatment program during the diagnostic interview.

Yes, you can register for both, but you need to complete one of the programs first and then register for the other.

Writing can be a powerful way to process emotions and heal. Our program is inspired by Interapy, a well-researched online therapy approach developed by Professors Alfred Lange and Paul Emmelkamp. It is based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and uses guided writing to help you process traumatic experiences, long-term sadness or a present day problem.

Writing gives you the chance to:

• Express yourself privatly and in your own words
• Take time to reflect before sharing
• Communicate at your own pace, from wherever you are

Yes, all our programs are free of charge.

The program is funded by MISEREOR/Katholische Zentralstelle für Entwicklungshilfe e. V. (Catholic Central Agency for Development Aid, regd.) in Germany.

All our therapists and counselors have a background in psychology or counseling. They receive specialized yearly training in our writing-based treatment approaches. Moreover, they take part in monthly supervision sessions to grow professionally and ensure the best care for our clients and patients.

No, at the moment our treatment is only available in Arabic.

Unfortunately, our program is only open to people aged 18 and over. However, if you need urgent help, please contact a local hospital, psychologist, or psychiatrist right away.

You can encourage this person to register with us. Please note that we only offer therapy for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as counseling for people with specific concerns in their lives. The minimum age is 18, and the person must have access to the internet. Unfortunately, we cannot help if the person does not register with us themselves. The patient’s consent is absolutely crucial for the success of treatment.

If you haven’t received an email, please first check your spam or junk folder. If you still can’t find the email, contact us at support-ilajnafsy@ueberleben.org and include a screenshot, if possible.

The questionnaire is quite detailed — take your time. You can fill out part of it now and continue later. Since we don’t meet in person, your answers help us understand your situation and offer you the treatment you actually need.

To book an appointment, please complete the entire questionnaire.

The data we obtain from the questionnaires is anonymized, encrypted, and stored in databases that are used for scientific purposes only. The data also helps us to continuously improve our treatments.

Unfortunately, online therapy is not suitable for everyone. If you have registered for our therapy program and the questionnaires show that your symptoms are too severe, our treatment is not suitable for your condition. On the contrary, it could be harmful.

If you have registered for our counseling program and you have indicated that you are thinking about ending your life, our online treatment is also not suitable for you.

In both cases we urge you to contact a local hotline, mental health organisation or hospital right away.

If you are already in contact with a therapist or counselor, please contact them via the messaging system. Many technical questions can also be answered by our chatbot. If you don’t find an answer there, please write to our support email:  support-ilajnafsy@ueberleben.org

You can book appointments through our online platform after registering. For registration please click here.

If no appointements are free, please check back again after 3 days or on Mondays  — new slots open regularly .

On the day of your appointment:

• Refresh the page regularly.
• Click “Go to current task” to enter the Whereby room.
• The time shown is in your local time zone.
• The link is active 15 minutes before and after your session.
• Video guide (as indicated)

Please log in to your account at the date and time of your appointment.

On the day of your appointment:

• Refresh the page regularly.
• Click “Go to current task” to enter the Whereby room.
• The time shown is in your local time zone.
• The link is active 15 minutes before and after your session.
• Video guide

To change or book a new appointment, please write directly to your diagnostic specialist through the message system and suggest several possible times.If you want to cancel your appointment, you can do it yourself in your account:

🎥 Watch this short video for all steps.

On the day of your appointment:

• Refresh the page regularly
• Click “Go to current task” to enter the Whereby room
• The time shown is in your local time zone
• The link is active 15 minutes before and after the session
• Video guide

To start treatment with us and contact a therapist or counselor you need to register for one of our programs. After completing all questionnaires you will then be assigned to your personal therapist who will contact you.

Once you have started your writingbased treatment, you can contact your therapist or counselor via the messaging system in your online account.

No. For security and privacy reasons, all communication takes place exclusively through our online platform.

If you do not have internet access (due to power outages or similar), you will unfortunately not be able to participate in therapy/counseling during this time. However, if you do not have internet access temporarily, you can continue to write your texts offline and send them as soon as you have internet access again.

If you have internet access but are ill or otherwise unable to write, it would be helpful to briefly inform your therapist or counselor via the messaging system. This will ensure that the therapists are aware of the situation and you can continue your treatment once you feel better.

Yes, you can request a change incase you feel more comfortable to start the treatment with a woman or a man. Matching depends on therapist availability. We’ll do our best to consider your preferences.

You can request a change, but matching depends on therapist availability. We’ll do our best to consider your preferences.

The therapy/counseling lasts approximately four to six weeks. During this time, you will write several texts, usually two texts per week. You decide for yourself when you would like to write.

Your therapy letters are stored in encrypted form in a highly secure web portal developed specifically for therapy purposes. No one outside the program can view your letters or access them. All data provided is stored exclusively using numbers in our database. Only therapists and research assistants have access to this specially secured database. Your data is transferred to the server exclusively via encrypted transmission channels.

The program is data protection compliant and uses an encrypt platform to ensure the security of your data and messages. The servers are based in the European Union.

We assure you that every letter and message you receive is written by one of our trained therapists or counselors. Please have a look at our team page to see who is behind the program.

The only case when you have no human interaction is when you are talking to our chatbot on the website.

Our program is backed by extensive scientific research on online-based treatments for Arabic-speaking individuals, particularly from the SWANA-region.

Over the past two decades, thousands of participants worldwide have taken part in our clinical studies focusing on depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These studies have consistently demonstrated the effectiveness of our treatment programs.

Take a look at our research page to learn more about it.

The research is conducted by multidisciplinary team of researchers and scientists affiliated with Zentrum Überleben, Freie Universität Berlin and Medical School Berlin in Germany. All data provided is stored exclusively using numbers in our database. Only therapists and research assistants have access to this specially secured database.