Frequently asked questions

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 call us at 069/798-34930, -34922 oder -34905.

You may also visit us short-notice and without prior appointment during our open consultation hours at the ServiceCenter' located at the building of tje language and cultural studies at Campus Westend. The open counselling hours take place every Tuesday from 1 p.m. till 3 p.m. and Thursday from 10 a.m. till 12 a.m.

During term time we also offer open consultation hours at HfMDK every two weeks, on Wednesday from 2 p.m. till 4 p.m. 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 Advisory Center 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 of our counsellors have a degree in psychology and have also trained further in relevant and scientifically recognized counselling and therapy procedures (systemic therapy). Psychologists, like doctors, are bound by law to confidentiality.

This means neither lecturers, employees of the university nor your parents, friends or other organizations (e.g. your health insurance company) will find out about your visit to us. Only if you explicitly wish this, your counsellor may be exempted from confidentially by your written request, in order that he/she can get in touch with 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.

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 friend, fellow student or family member to the appointment, e.g. if you find it too difficult to seek counselling on your own or if the other person is involved in the difficult situation.

It may sometimes also make sense to invite other people to an appointment in the course of a counselling process,. In addition, the psychosocial counselling also offers couples counselling sessions. If you find yourself in a difficult situation as a couple, please arrange a consultation.

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