What is Self-Help Berlin, ANYWAYS?

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Dear Reader,

YAY! You're here! And we are SO glad!

​Self-Help Berlin is an initiative that aims to spread awareness of and connect you with all the amazing self-help tools and resources that Berlin has to offer!

Now, I bet you're still like - "What is self-help?!"...

And let's get that seed planting as a big part of our FIRST newsletter, right away!

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines self-help as: "the action or process of bettering oneself or overcoming one's problems without the aid of others."

And the American Psychological Association defines it as: "a focus on self-guided, in contrast to professionally guided, efforts to cope with life problems. Self-help can involve self-reliance, in which one addresses such problems on one’s own (e.g., by reading self-help books), or it can involve joining with others to address shared concerns together, as in self-help groups."

So, the definition is in the word...self-help is whatever way becomes obvious to you to help yourself in challenging and other times (health-related or otherwise) using your own agency and authority - either alone or complimentary to the guidance of professionals.

As an international who has immigrated to Berlin or who lives here as an international person - you face normal health and wellbeing challenges as well as a whole different set of challenges that comes with not being or only partially being a native German and/or Berliner!

And that is where Self-Help Berlin comes in...the "campaign" so-to-say that connects you with the Berliner Self-Help Network: SEKIS.

Introducing the Self-Help Berlin Network

So, depending on where you're from - it might seem weird or hard to grasp that there is an organization set up to make people aware of using self-help resources to take their life and it's challenges into their own hands.

It's actually TOTALLY cool!

Germany views self-help and self-help groups as the fourth pillar of the German health care system...that's how important it has become in the last 40+ years!

SEKIS is comprised of 12+ Self-Help Contact Points across the city. Each have social workers working there to support YOU on your self-help journey in Berlin!

We won't go too far into this today, but you can download a little map of all the contact points here:

Download now 👉 Berlin-wide Self-Help Contact Points Map.pdf​

Depending on where you live, you can contact them and get guidance on starting a self-help group of your own or joining and existing one!

At the end of the day - I hope you take this with you - Self-Help Berlin is about relying on yourself to come together with peers with shared challenges and end results and be seen, heard, and understood - one of the most basic human needs we all have and something we are all needing in this busy and rather separated world!

That's all for our first edition today!

If you have any questions - contact your local self-help point or hit reply to this email and let us know!

Below are some upcoming events that take place in both English and German coming up in the month of June.

And lastly, there is a little preview of the next newsletter edition!

Warmly,

Taylor Coburn

Project Manager Self-Help for Internationals in Berlin

Download Broschure 👉 Migration and Self-Help_English.pdf​​​

Upcoming English / German Events:

Open Space 11 June 2025 & 25 June 2025 6pm to 8pm ABC Room 1 at Alt-Marzahn 54, 12685 Berlin Ages 18 to ca. 35

Come Together! Planned for 27 June 2025 Location to be announced! Click the photo for last month's! (in German preview)

Coming up in the next edition:

1️⃣ Self-Help Group Highlight: The Brush Strokes Society 🖌️🎨

Learn about this group of internationals from all over the world who support each other with their loneliness and other topics while meeting up to paint with water-colors!

2️⃣ Guide piece: "What is the difference between self-help and therapy?"

We will explore the main difference and help get you moving on the best next step for you!