Suicide Hotlines and Crisis Lines in Switzerland

A helpline is a place to talk to someone when you are struggling, before or instead of a crisis. The lines on this page are answered by trained volunteers, professional counsellors or peer counsellors, depending on the service. If you are not in Switzerland, the worldwide list is organised by country.

What you share is kept private in almost all cases; if a counsellor believes a life is in immediate danger, they may arrange urgent help. What each service costs is set out beside it below, because in Switzerland some numbers are free, some are charged at a normal or local rate, and one carries a small per-call charge.

Switzerland has three main language regions, and what is available differs between them. Each service below states which languages it answers in, and when, because the German, French and Italian arms of the same organisation can keep different hours.

TherapyRoute is a directory. We do not answer calls or messages ourselves, so please use the numbers below rather than contacting us if you need someone now.

CRISIS LINES, SUICIDE HOTLINES, AND HELPLINES IN SWITZERLAND

Each number below was checked in August 2026 at the operating organisation's own website, or at ch.ch, the Swiss federal authorities' information portal.

Notice an error or a missing service? Please tell us so we can correct it.

Emergency numbers, and what each one is for

Die Dargebotene Hand, La Main Tendue, Telefono Amico, Tel 143

Beratung + Hilfe 147, for children and young people

Opferhilfe Schweiz, the victim-support number 142

Elternnotruf, for parents and caregivers

Pro Mente Sana, for German-speaking Switzerland

Pro Mente Sana, Association romande, for French-speaking Switzerland

LGBTIQ Helpline, evenings

While you are waiting to be answered

If you are worried about someone else

---

Emergency numbers, and what each one is for

The federal portal ch.ch calls 112 "the most important emergency number in Switzerland and in Europe". It adds that you can call it with a foreign SIM card, or with a prepaid card that has no credit.

General emergency, Europe-wide: 112

Police: 117

Fire: 118

Ambulance: 144

Poisoning, Tox Info Suisse: 145

Switzerland also lists its mental-health short numbers on the same federal emergency page: 143 for adults and 147 for children and young people. Both are described in full below, together with 142, the national victim-support number.

Die Dargebotene Hand, La Main Tendue, Telefono Amico, Tel 143

One association, three names, one number. In German-speaking Switzerland it is Die Dargebotene Hand, in French-speaking Switzerland La Main Tendue, in Italian-speaking Switzerland Telefono Amico. It is online at 143.ch, and its English-language service is branded Heart2Heart.

The line is answered by trained volunteers, on any subject. In its own words, translated from its German page: "Our trained volunteers meet you as equals and offer help towards self-help." Its FAQ states that the service is aimed mainly at adults, and that minors who contact it are always referred to Tel 147.

The number works only in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein, which the organisation states on its contact page.

Tel: 143, answered day and night. In the organisation's own words, translated from German: "We are there for you round the clock, 365 days a year."

Tel, English line: 0800 143 000, from 6 to 11 pm, as published on the organisation's homepages.

Chat, German-speaking Switzerland: via 143.ch, every day from 10:00 to 22:00.

Chat, French-speaking Switzerland: via 143.ch, Monday to Saturday from 19:00 to 22:00, and Sunday from 16:00 to 22:00.

Chat, Italian-speaking Switzerland: via 143.ch, with no fixed schedule. In its own words, translated from Italian: "Our chat is open when we have enough staff to devote to you." Check the page for the current sessions.

Email: via the site, in German or French, with a reply within 48 hours. The organisation states that email counselling in Italian is not possible.

Languages: German, French and Italian on 143, with English in the evenings on the separate number above. If you reach a region that does not speak your language, the organisation says you can be passed to one that does.

Cost: in the organisation's own words, translated from German: "Our services are free of charge. Depending on your telephone provider, charges may apply. No transmission costs arise for chats and mails." The federal portal ch.ch prints a figure the organisation itself does not: 20 to 70 Rappen per call.

Beratung + Hilfe 147, for children and young people

The foundation Pro Juventute runs this service for children and young people, as Beratung + Hilfe 147 in German, Conseils + aide 147 in French and Consulenza + aiuto 147 in Italian. It is online at 147.ch, and the counsellors who answer are professionals.

Pro Juventute's own description, translated from German: "In personal crises with suicidal thoughts or anxiety, children and young people often turn to Pro Juventute's Beratung + Hilfe 147." The service covers all three national languages, German, French and Italian, which the foundation states plainly.

Tel: 147, answered day and night.

WhatsApp: via 147.ch, daily from 07:30 to 22:00, with a reply normally within 24 hours.

Email: beratung@147.ch in German, conseils@147.ch in French, consulenza@147.ch in Italian, with a reply within 24 hours.

Chat: a peer chat via 147.ch, every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 19:00 to 22:00, without registration.

Cost: in the service's own words, translated from its German site: "Your call is free and does not appear on the phone bill."

Opferhilfe Schweiz, the victim-support number 142

Since 1 May 2026, victim support across Switzerland has been reachable on the single national number 142. It connects you to the cantonal victim-support counselling centres, known as Opferhilfe in German, Aide aux victimes in French and Aiuto alle vittime in Italian.

The Federal Office of Justice describes it, translated from German, as "free, confidential, round-the-clock counselling for people who have experienced physical, psychological or sexual violence, and for their relatives", answered by trained specialists who refer callers on where needed.

The service itself says plainly that 142 is not an emergency number. Its own guidance, translated: in situations of acute danger, contact the police on 117 or the emergency services on 144.

Tel: 142, answered day and night.

Languages: the service publishes its pages in German, French and Italian. It states that where necessary its counsellors work with interpreters, including sign language.

Cost: in the service's own words, translated from German: "The counselling of the victim-support service is free of charge." It adds that calls to 142 appear neither on the phone bill nor in the itemised call record, although the call may still be visible in your own handset's list of dialled numbers.

Elternnotruf, for parents and caregivers

Elternnotruf offers counselling for parents, other caregivers and professionals, on family life, parenting questions, crises, feeling overwhelmed and violence. It is Zurich-based rather than a declared national service, and it answers other languages by callback, so treat it as strongest for German speakers.

Its own English page says: "Our counselors are available for you around the clock, confidentially, free of charge and anonymously if you wish." The same page discloses that at night, between 11 pm and 8 am, calls are answered by Die Dargebotene Hand Zurich.

Tel: 0848 35 45 55, answered day and night with the night arrangement above.

Chat: via elternnotruf.ch, Monday to Thursday from 6 pm to 10 pm.

Email: via mailberatung.elternnotruf.ch, with a personal reply within two working days.

Languages: German live. The organisation offers French and English by callback within 24 hours, and Italian by callback within 48 hours. A callback means someone phones you back in your language, rather than answering in it on the spot.

Cost: the organisation describes its phone, chat and mail counselling as free of charge. Personal counselling in person or online is charged at income-dependent tariffs, which it states separately.

Pro Mente Sana, for German-speaking Switzerland

The Swiss foundation Pro Mente Sana offers, in its own words translated from German, "free counselling on psychosocial and legal questions for people with a mental health condition", and for their relatives and close contacts. The counsellors include peers, people with their own lived experience of mental health difficulty.

This is a daytime counselling line, not a crisis line, and it is published in German only. French-speaking Switzerland is served by a separate organisation, described in the next section.

Tel: 0848 800 858

Hours, psychosocial counselling: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 09:00 to 12:00 and 16:30 to 19:30; Thursday and Friday from 09:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 17:00.

Hours, legal counselling: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 09:00 to 12:00; Thursday from 09:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 17:00; Friday from 09:00 to 12:00.

Cost: the foundation's own wording is "Kostenlose Telefonberatung (Normaltarif)": the counselling is free, and the call itself is charged at the normal rate.

Pro Mente Sana, Association romande, for French-speaking Switzerland

The Association romande de Pro Mente Sana is a separate organisation from the German-language foundation above, with its own numbers and its own site. In its own words, translated from French: "Pro Mente Sana defends the interests and rights of people with a psychological disability." It runs two telephone advice lines, one psychosocial and one legal.

This is a regional service for French-speaking Switzerland, based in Geneva, and it keeps set daytime hours.

Tel, psychosocial counselling: 0840 000 062

Tel, legal counselling: 0840 000 061

Hours: both lines answer on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 am to 1 pm.

Languages: the psychosocial line publishes French, Spanish, Portuguese and English.

Cost: the site prints "tarif local" beside each number, meaning the call is charged at the local rate. It does not describe the lines as free, so neither do we.

LGBTIQ Helpline, evenings

The LGBTIQ Helpline, run from Pink Cross in Bern, offers peer counselling on sexual and romantic orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics, and takes reports of anti-LGBTIQ hate crime. In its own words, translated from German, it is "for all people who have questions about queer life", whatever their own orientation or identity.

It is an evening service, not a crisis line, and its own site points people who need help at any hour to 143 and 147.

Tel: 0800 133 133

Chat: via lgbtiq-helpline.ch

Hours: phone and chat, Monday to Friday from 19:00 to 21:00, in German. French is answered live on Tuesday and Friday evenings in the same hours. For French, Italian or English at other times, the service asks you to say so by email or chat, and a person who speaks that language will contact you.

Email: via the site's contact form, with a reply within 72 hours, Monday to Friday.

Cost: not published on the pages we read.

While you are waiting to be answered

Some of these lines keep set hours, and a line that is open can still be busy. If you are waiting, try to stay with someone you trust, or ask someone to sit with you until the call connects.

If you have anything near you that you could use to harm yourself, put it somewhere harder to reach, or ask someone else to hold it for you. Distance and time both help.

If waiting is not possible, dial 112, 117 or 144, or go to a hospital emergency department. You do not need an appointment and you do not need to explain yourself well.

If you are worried about someone else

Ask them directly. Asking someone whether they are thinking of suicide does not put the idea there, and it often comes as a relief to be asked plainly.

Listen more than you advise. You do not need the right words, and you are not expected to fix anything.

If they are willing, offer to sit with them while they call one of the numbers above, or to make the call together. If they are in immediate danger, treat it as you would any medical emergency.

Supporting someone through this is heavy, and it is reasonable to want support of your own. The same lines are open to you, and Elternnotruf exists for exactly the parent or caregiver who is carrying it.

For services in other countries, see the list of helplines and suicide hotlines worldwide.

BACK TO TOP