DGSF

Name

DGSF

Legal name

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Systemische Therapie, Beratung und Familientherapie e. V.

Website

https://dgsf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Annual membership fees from approximately 11,000 members including therapists, counselors, coaches, and social workers
2. Event fees: Registration fees for conferences, Fachtage (professional development events), workshops, and regional meetings
3. Certification services: Fees for processing certifications in systemic therapy, counseling, and related fields; storage of certification data beyond membership period

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

DGSF is a registered non-profit professional association (eingetragener Verein) that connects approximately 11,000 systemic therapy, counseling, supervision, mediation, coaching, and organizational development practitioners across Germany. It sells annual memberships, processes certifications in systemic therapy and counseling, and runs professional development programs including the annual Spring Conference (Frühjahrstagung), Fachtage, and an online Summer Academy, delivered with partner training institutes.

Product overview

DGSF operates primarily as a professional membership association website rather than a software product company. The website provides information about membership, certification programs, continuing education events (Fachtage/workshops), conferences, regional and specialist groups, publications, and resources for systemic therapy, counseling, and family therapy professionals. There are no named software products or digital platforms being offered as products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DGSF Annual Membership Annual membership program for systemic practitioners including therapists, counselors, coaches, and social workers, conferring certification recognition, discounted event fees, and access to regional/specialist groups. Membership base ~11,000 members.
• DGSF Certification in Systemic Therapy and Counseling Recognized field certification in systemic therapy, systemic counseling, and related disciplines, with certification data stored beyond the membership period. Delivered via approved partner training institutes and processed by DGSF.
• DGSF Spring Conference (Frühjahrstagung) Annual flagship conference (Frühjahrstagung) for systemic therapy, counseling, and family therapy professionals across Germany, with topical programming, in-person and occasionally hybrid format.
• DGSF Fachtage (Professional Development Days) Recurring single- or multi-day topic-specific professional development events (Fachtage) for members and non-members, delivered in cooperation with partner institutes across German cities; example topics include pair and relationship counseling, hypnosystemic resources, multi-family therapy, and leadership in youth welfare.
• DGSF Online Summer Academy Online continuing education program offering 4 professional development events on systemic counseling and therapy methods, delivered in partnership with calaidoskop.
• DGSF Online Member Search Directory Searchable web directory of DGSF-certified professionals, instructors, training institutes, and continuing education programs to help clients and referrers locate practitioners.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11,000+ members connected through professional network

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Kinderschutz-Zentren e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint organization of the congress 'Kooperation zwischen Anspruch und Wirklichkeit – Kinder- und Jugendhilfe & Gesundheitswesen im Kinderschutz' on June 25-26, 2026 in Leipzig. The congress focused on cooperation between child protection, youth welfare, and healthcare systems.
• Deutsches Jugendinstitut (DJI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint organizer of the 2026 Leipzig congress on child protection cooperation between youth welfare and healthcare. DJI is a leading research institute for child and youth welfare.
• Kinderschutz-Zentrum LeipzigcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner for the 2026 Leipzig congress on child protection, providing venue and local coordination.
• calaidoskopminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner for the DGSF Online Summer Academy offering 4 professional development events in July 2026 on systemic counseling and therapy methods.
• hisw HamburgminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCooperation partner for various DGSF Fachtage (professional development events) in Hamburg on topics including autism, burnout prevention, and hypnosystemic approaches.
• praxis-institut für systemische beratung südminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCooperation partner for multiple DGSF Fachtage including creative methods for working with youth, multi-family therapy, and systemic craftsmanship workshops.
• Kölner Verein für systemische Beratung e. V.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner for DGSF Fachtage in Cologne including hypnosystemic resources training.
• ISTN KoblenzminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCooperation partner for constellation work workshop (Perlen der Aufstellungsarbeit) in Koblenz.
• ISTB Rhein-MainminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner for Fachtag on 'Jugendhilfe neugestalten' (reshaping youth welfare) in cooperation with DGSF.
• N.I.L. OsnabrückminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner for joint Fachtag on leadership in youth welfare together with ISTB Rhein-Main and DGSF.
• HSI (Hans-Schmithals-Institut)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint organizer of the conference 'Kooperation im Kinderschutz – Gemeinsam.Dialogisch.Systemisch!' in Heidelberg, November 2026.
• Akademie der Kulturellen Bildung, RemscheidminorOthersVenue partner for DGSF Spring Conference 2026 (Frühjahrstagung) in Remscheid.
• Dachverband Gemeindepsychiatrie e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of the jubilee conference 'Kleine Held*innen in Not' (2025) on mental health of families, with DGSF participation.
• Bündnis KipsFamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDGSF actively participates in the steering of this alliance advocating for children of mentally ill and addicted parents, working towards binding structures and adequate support.
• Systemische Gesellschaft (SG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative relationship with the other major German systemic therapy association. Joint positions on child welfare policy and systemic therapy recognition. DGSF statement on structural reform of child and youth welfare (1. KJHSRG) was explicitly supported by SG.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Systemische Gesellschaft (SG): The other major German professional association for systemic therapy, founded in 1995. SG competes directly with DGSF for members and jointly lobbies on systemic practice recognition; the two organizations co-sign policy positions, confirming close substitutability.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Supervision und Coaching (DGSv): Germany's leading professional association for supervision and coaching, with a member-based certification model similar to DGSF. Overlap is direct in the supervision and coaching professional segments DGSF explicitly serves.
• Europäische Vereinigung für Familientherapie (European Family Therapy Association, EFTA): European umbrella for family and systemic therapy associations. DGSF is implicitly comparable as a national member body serving systemic/family therapists within a federated structure.
• Deutscher Berufsverband für Soziale Arbeit (DBSH): Germany's professional association for social workers, with membership, continuing education, and advocacy functions that overlap with DGSF's social-work and youth-welfare segments.

Broad incumbents

• Deutsche PsychotherapeutenVereinigung (DPtV): Major German professional association representing licensed psychotherapists across modalities. A broader incumbent that overlaps with DGSF-certified systemic therapists who also hold psychotherapist licensure.
• Bundespsychotherapeutenkammer (BPtK): The federal chamber representing psychotherapists in Germany. Operates as a regulatory and advocacy body at national level, setting frameworks that affect DGSF members' practice conditions.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Verhaltenstherapie (DGVT): Germany's largest CBT-focused professional association with a comparable member-certification-event model. A broader incumbent that competes for psychotherapy professionals that DGSF also serves.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik und Nervenheilkunde (DGPPN): Germany's leading scientific-medical psychiatric association. A broad incumbent whose healthcare-system advocacy and conference infrastructure partially overlap with DGSF's healthcare-professional member segment.

Emerging players

• EMDRIA Deutschland: German chapter of the EMDR therapy association. An emerging modality-specific professional body whose therapist members often overlap with DGSF's systemic therapy practitioner base.

Others

• Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Kinderschutz-Zentren: Federation of child protection centers in Germany; a co-organizer with DGSF on the 2026 Leipzig child protection congress. Not a direct competitor but a strategically aligned ecosystem partner.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/dgsf.org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DGSF