Perhaps you are not sure whether whatever worries you is important enough to merit a consultation. Feel free to get in touch and visit us as this could be the subject of a counselling session. We invite you to come by even if it just feels "a little bit off". People often tend to try to deal with things on their own. A counselling session, especially at at the beginning, is often useful to prevent worse things from happening.

We, the psychosocial counselling service, will give you advice on problems that are related to your studies as well as on challenging situations in your private life.

To schedule an individual appointment please contact us on phone 069/798-34924 (Mo.- Fr. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) or via our contact form ►

You may also visit us short-notice and without prior appointment during our open consultation hours at the ServiceCenter' located at the building of the language and cultural studies at Campus Westend. Open consultation hours►

During term time we also offer open consultation hours at HfMDK every two weeks. There are also sheduled open counselling hours at the locations of our other affiliated universities. For dates see here►

There may be waiting times before the first consultation depending on the workload of the psychosocial counseling service. In general, a first consultation is possible within two to three weeks after your initial request. However, depending on the number of requests for appointments and the time slots you as an advice seeker can manage, the waiting times is subject to being shorter or longer.

It would be advisable for you to arrive at your ServiceCenter 10 to 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment. You will be handed a registration form. However, if you prefer, we will of course counsel you anonymously without making records of your personal details. In either case, your counsellor will pick you up in the wating area afterwads. You will then have an interview with your counsellor to describe your concern and plan how to proceed further.

For an individual appointment the approximated time of consultation is around 50 minutes. At open consultation hours we have assigned 30 minutes to each counselling session.

If you can not make it to an appointment, please notice us at least 24 hours prior to the appointment or if possible, even earlier. Every time slot for an individual appointment is reserved for you and can therefore not be made available to other students at short notice if you just do not turn up. Therefore the initial period until every interested student gets an appointment are subject to getting longer in case of no-shows.

Our service is generally free of charge, as the psychosociological advising service is financed by the semester contribution all students are required to pay.

All counsellors have a degree in psychology and extraordinary training in relevant and scientifically recognised counselling and therapy methods (e.g. behavioural therapy or systemic therapy). Like doctors, psychologists are bound by law to confidentiality.

This means that neither lecturers, university staff, your parents, friends or other organisations (e.g. your health insurance company) will find out about your visit to the PSB. Only if you explicitly wish to do so, you can release your counsellor from the duty of confidentiality in writing that he/she can contact other people.

In general, you will discuss the further proceedings with your counsellor. Following the initial appointment, further counseling appointments can be made at the psychosocial counselling center, for example, to work on solving your difficulties. Usually short to medium-term consulting processes are possible.

It may also be advisable to look for help elsewhere, e.g. other advisory services at the university (career service and others) , specialized counselling services in the Rhine-Main-Area or psychotherapy►.

Your counsellor will support you thiw this and help to find the right contact points for you.

We are responsible for students at all universities that are affiliated to the Studierendenwerk Frankfurt am Main:

• Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main
• Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences
• Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts
• University of art and design, Offenbach am Main
• RheinMain University of Applied Sciences
• Geisenheim University

You are welcome to bring a companion (friend, fellow student, family member) to the consultation, e.g. if you find it too difficult to go to counselling alone or if the other person is involved in the difficult situation.

In the course of the counselling process, it can also sometimes get useful to invite other people to the meeting. The PSB also offers couples counselling for student couples. If you find yourself in a difficult situation as a couple, you are welcome to arrange a counselling session.

Yes, we offer counselling in German as well as in English. We welcome international students to get in touch with us!

Some of the universities for which the Studierendenwerk Frankfurt am Main is responsible also offer psychological counselling as part of their central student advisory service:

• Psychological counselling for students at Goethe University
• Psychosocial counselling for students at FRA-UAS
• Psychological counselling for students at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, Wiesbaden and Rüsselsheim
• Psychological counselling for students at Geisenheim University