What we offer

Counseling is available for all difficulties regarding your studies and personal situations that affect your studies. Counseling can be carried out in German, English, French, Spanish, and Arabic.

We determine the number of sessions based on the needs of the person seeking counseling. We can help to resolve certain issues in a single session; others might require 3 or 4 sessions. We can offer a maximum of 6 counseling sessions. Where necessary, we can provide other forms of support—such as our workshops—and help you to find other services within or outside the University. We do not offer long-term psychotherapy; however, we are happy to help you find a therapist. Read the registration information.

During our consultation hour, we offer a short counseling session of 10 to 15 minutes. During that time, we will assess your situation together and develop a plan on how best to proceed.

We offer short face-to-face counselling on Mondays from 11 am to 12 pm, by appointment only. You can book an appointment for the short counselling here, from 1 week in advance. The counseling sessions take place in the Campus Center at Alsterterrasse 1 (3rd floor).

Alternatively, our open consultation hour by telephone is available to you without an appointment. Every Monday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. you can reach us at the following telephone number:

• +49 40 42838-8916

Our group counseling is geared toward students who suffer from procrastination and who find it difficult to progress in or complete their studies. The group sessions help students tackle the upcoming steps (e.g., attending classes, doing term papers or final theses, preparing for and taking examinations), stick at it, and—at the same time—overcome internal and external hurdles. The goal is for students to complete individual steps and, ultimately, whole projects. Self-observation and self-reflection are used to help students build up an understanding of their actions and to develop concrete strategies for change. Exchanging with other students is at least as important as the therapeutic counseling itself.

Group counseling is ongoing, and one round consists of 8 sessions. Students can be admitted to group counseling at certain times in consultation with the group leader. If necessary, you may have a preliminary discussion with the group leader. If you are interested in group counseling, contact us via ada.pv"AT"uni-hamburg.de.

We start a new round in January 2023 with our group offer for PhD students: The focus is on coping with stress. Topics include time management, dealing with anxiety (e.g. impostor syndrome), and improving self-care, e.g. through mindfulness and relaxation techniques.

During the pandemic, doctoral students often suffered from isolation, stress, loss of motivation and financial worries. International doctoral students had a hard time settling down in Hamburg and networking. On the one hand, we want to teach the group skills for coping with stress in this special living and working situation. On the other hand, we want to offer a platform for personal exchange among doctoral students from different subjects. To ensure access for all, the group will be held in English. To maintain a familiar atmosphere, we limit the number of participants to a maximum of appr. 12. The sessions are a mix of professional input, practical exercises, discussion and exchange in small groups.

The current run has started and registration is no longer possible. We are happy to accept registration requests for upcoming runs via our mail portal. Please use the registration for individual counselling and mention the group in your request.

Are you easily distracted and erratic? Do you often lose or forget things? Do you have trouble concentrating? Do you often feel nervous and restless? Do you have problems organizing your daily life and studies? Do you often put off difficult tasks that require concentration or avoid them altogether? Do you find it difficult to listen quietly to others without interrupting them?

Do you suffer from these limitations, and do they cause you problems or disadvantages in your studies or personal life? Do you often criticize yourself for these behaviors, feel angry or disappointed with yourself? Did you have these problems already in your school days?

In other words: Have you ever wondered if you might have ADHD? Or do you already have an AD(H)S diagnosis and suffer from the problems described?

The group offer "ADHD?" is aimed at students who experience ADHD-specific  difficulties and restrictions in their studies and private life, such as strong distractibility, concentration problems, difficulties in self-organization, restlessness. Participation in the group does not (yet) require an ADD or ADHD diagnosis. The group is intended to help students cope with their studies and the difficulties in their private lives that arise from the above-mentioned limitations and behaviors. The exchange with other affected students is at least as important as the therapeutic support by the moderators.

Topics include: What is ADHD (for me), diagnostics and treatment options, self-organization, structuring one's own learning process, learning strategies, discovering and activating resources and strengths, overcoming social difficulties, dealing with strong feelings and impulsivity.

The group comprises 8 meetings, always on Mondays 15 - 16.30. It will be held in person and in German, therefore sufficient German knowledge is required. We offer one individual meeting before to clarify conditions and expectations. The current round has started and we cannot consider any further registrations. At the moment it is not yet decided whether there will be further courses. If you are interested in the group, please contact us via our mail portal. Please use the registration for individual counseling and mention the group as your reason for registering. We will add you to our list of interested persons and contact you as soon as we have further information.

Do you sometimes criticize yourself when you make a mistake? Do you find yourself that you treat yourself more harshly than you do your friends? It is hard to take care of yourself when you are struggling, or to allow others to care of you?

Compassionate Mind Training (CMT) involves ideas & exercises that are scientifically proven to increase compassion for others and ourselves.

Research conducted on this course found that it led to a number of positive benefits, including improvements in compassion, self-reassurance, self-criticism, and emotional wellbeing.

The course meets weekly in person or via Zoom with eight to twelve participants. Each of the eight sessions includes a mixture of taught content, experiential exercises (e.g. mindfulness, imagery, and compassion), and group sharing.

To practice and strengthen your (self-) compassion in between sessions, you will have access to the guided audio files and additional reading material via the Unicommsy learning platform.

What are the prerequisites you should bring with you?

You are/have...

- curious and open to trying new exercises
- willing to practice regularly (approx. 15min per day) between sessions.
- willing to share your learning experiences with other participants.
- currently no pressing suicidal thoughts.
- time for a short preliminary conversation (10min).

Registration

The course is offered several times a year. A new course will be planned, when enough participants have registered. Dates will be published here. Feel free to contact us if you are interested and we will add you to our waiting list. Please note that the course is held in German. Thus sufficient language skills are required.

Contact: Dipl.-Psych. Franziska Wallburg franziska.wallburg"AT"uni-hamburg.de

HOPES is a special support service for students at all Hamburg higher education institutions who need practical advice on coping with academic life after a serious psychological event or after in-patient psychological treatment. More information

In cooperation with the Center for Academic Advising, we offer a variety of workshops on study-related topics and on personal development. Read more about the workshops and registering.

Difficult situations may arise in your daily encounters with students if:

• students act in a way that suggests they have a psychological disorder
• students constantly disrupt classes and do not respond to reprimand
• students behave aggressively toward other students or teaching staff
• fellow students, or you yourself, begin to worry about a student’s behavior
• open conflicts arise, for example, regarding exams or examination matters.

In such cases, contact:

• Ronald Hoffmann (head of Section 30: Advising and Administration, +49 40 42838-3646, ronald.hoffmann"AT"uni-hamburg.de)
• Annette Juchems-Brohl (head of Psychological Counseling Team, +49 40 42838-3303, annette.juchems-brohl@uni-hamburg.de).(annette.juchems-brohl"AT"uni-hamburg.de)

For personal matters requiring counseling, please use one of the counseling for University staff services in the Staff Service Portal.