Further offerings
Helpful services for patients
Helpful services for relatives
Helpful services for professionals
Helpful services for patients
Talking can save lives
Help for those affected, their relatives, and the bereaved.
Trauernetz – A service offered by the Protestant Church
When your own death is before your eyes and the world keeps turning.
Health Promotion Switzerland: Suicide Prevention
In 2016, the National Action Plan for Suicide Prevention was launched by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the cantons, and Health Promotion Switzerland, with the involvement of other stakeholders. The goal is to reduce the suicide rate in Switzerland by 25% by 2030.
Helpful services for relatives
The Family Consultation Service of the UPD
Is someone in your family suffering from mental illness? Do you have questions about the illness? Are you unsure whether and how to talk to someone about their behavior? Are you worried that someone might harm themselves? Are you unsure what the illness of a loved one means for you personally?
Network for Family Support in Psychiatry
The association aims to connect experts and professionalize the work with relatives in psychiatric care. It provides information about current services for relatives of people with mental illness.
Association of Relatives of Mentally Ill Persons VASK
VASK provides information and support for relatives of people with mental illness. It represents the interests of relatives and is networked with public and private institutions.
Talking can save lives
Help for those affected, their relatives, and the bereaved.
Trauernetz – A service offered by the Protestant Church
The trauer.net association creates meeting places for people affected by suicide, whether in specialist-led self-help groups on site or online.
It also offers training on suicide prevention and postvention for multipliers (teachers, youth workers, healthcare trainers, etc.) and professionals who are repeatedly confronted with suicide (emergency services, SBB, psychologists, clergy, etc.).
Testimonials from caring relatives
Together with the FOPH, the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) has developed awareness films and information for caring relatives.
On this page, eight affected individuals share their personal experiences. Watch and listen in short videos to see which solutions caring relatives have found together with their loved ones.
Health Promotion Switzerland: Suicide Prevention
In 2016, the National Action Plan for Suicide Prevention was launched by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the cantons, and Health Promotion Switzerland, with the involvement of other stakeholders. The goal is to reduce the suicide rate in Switzerland by 25% by 2030.
Helpful services for professionals
Relatives Work Network in Psychiatry
The association aims to network professionals and professionalize work with relatives in psychiatric care. It provides information on current services for relatives of people with mental illnesses.
Trauernetz – A service offered by the Protestant Church
The Trauernetz association creates meeting places for people affected by suicide, either in professionally led local self-help groups or online. It also offers training on suicide prevention and postvention for multipliers (teachers, youth workers, healthcare trainers, etc.) and professionals who repeatedly encounter suicide (emergency services, Swiss Federal Railways, psychologists, clergy, etc.).
Health Promotion Switzerland: Suicide Prevention
In 2016, the National Action Plan for Suicide Prevention was launched by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the cantons, and Health Promotion Switzerland, with the involvement of other stakeholders. The goal is to reduce the suicide rate in Switzerland by 25% by 2030.
Bern Alliance Against Depression
The Bern Alliance Against Depression (BBgD) is a cantonal network aimed at improving the care and living conditions of people with depression and their relatives, as well as promoting suicide prevention in the Canton of Bern.
Lecture: Results from Suicide Research in Adulthood 2024 by PD Dr. phil. Anja Gysin-Maillart
Further Support
Support and Relief for Caregiving Relatives: Insights for Cantons and Municipalities (german)
Cantons and municipalities can play a key role in establishing supportive conditions and services that help ease the burden on family caregivers.
This document is primarily intended for cantonal authorities, but also for municipal officials. It offers guidance and ideas for developing measures to support and relieve family caregivers.
Tool for Early Identification of Relief Needs Among Family Caregivers in Medical Practice
Physicians play a key role in early identification of relief needs within a caregiving and care setting. This tool is designed to help physicians assess the relief needs of family caregivers more easily.
Here you can find the article about the tool, which was published in February 2021 in the journal Primary and Hospital Care (german).
Supporting relatives of people at risk of suicide (german)
The brochure provides information about hospitalization for suicidality and answers common questions from relatives regarding a hospital stay.
Collaboration with Family Caregivers: Insights for Education Coordinators as well as Leadership and Professional Staff in Nursing and Social Work (german)
Nursing and social work professionals engage in a wide range of interactions with family caregivers. They are therefore able to provide early and needs-based support to caregivers. This document illustrates how professionals can further leverage the potential for improved quality of care through an institutionalized collaboration with family caregivers.