The Women’s Counselling Centre (Frauenberatungsstelle) is an institution launched by women for women. Our counselling centre provides information to help you deal with everyday life as well as therapeutic group work and individual psychosocial support. It also serves as an international meeting point.
All women - regardless of their age, nationality or religion – are welcome to make use of our services.
If you decide to contact us, every interaction will be treated as strictly confidential. You can also do so anonymously. If necessary, we will work with interpreters (to overcome any language barrier).
For years, we have been working with women from all over the world who have experienced violence. This is why we are professionally and politically committed to improve the lives of these women in society and to contribute to empowering women in general.
We are a non-profit organization run by women. We are politically neutral and non-denominational. We are supported by the Ministry of Health, Equalities, Care and Ageing of North-Rhine Westphalia and by the town of Gelsenkirchen. We rely on donations to continue our work.

Team:
The team of the Women’s Counselling Centre is interdisciplinary and multicultural. The three members of our counselling team have degrees in education (Dipl.-Päd. and Dipl-Sozialpäd.). All of the team members have additional qualifications (e.g. psychotraumatological, client-centred, bereavement and grief counseling, systemic family therapy, art therapy) and they regularly take part in further training programs.
In addition, we have two staff members who ensure the day-to-day running of the centre.

Our Philosophy:
The women who come to the Women’s Counselling Centre are from different cultural backgrounds. Since we are a multicultural team, we are able to counsel women in Arabic, German, Russian, Turkish, English and French.
Due to our intra- and intercultural competences, we are able to meet the women who come to us with understanding and respect in regard to their religious, cultural and subcultural orientation and origins.
We offer foreign women the support they might need and are happy to help with culture-related problems. With regard to immigration law issues, we are working with the Foreigners’ and Refugees’ Office and the Youth Migration Service of the Diakonie.