Student mental health
Mental health, balance and dealing with stress are very individual - and so are the ways of dealing with it!
The Central Academic Advising Office (ZSB) in the Student Service Center offers the following services - to answer your questions, but also to support you in achieving a good balance in your studies:
- Open office hours without prior registration
- If you have any major concerns, you are welcome to arrange an appointment for a detailed individual advising session.
- We offer workshops on various topics such as mental health, doubts about your studies, stress, self-management, etc. every semester.
The following selection of tips and links can serve as further inspiration for additional support.
For acute mental health emergencies
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
◦ Available around the clock
◦ +49 (0) 761 270 650 10 or +49 (0) 761 270 650 20
◦ Hauptstr. 5, 79104 Freiburg
◦ www.uniklinik-freiburg.de/psych [DE]
Psychiatric Centre in Emmendingen
◦ +49 (0) 7641 461 0
◦ Neubronnstr. 25, 79312 Emmendingen
◦ www.zfp-emmendingen.de [DE]
Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the Medical Center of the University of Freiburg
◦ Office hours outpatient clinic: Mon - Fri 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (noon)
◦ +49 (0) 761 270 68410
◦ www.uniklinik-freiburg.de/psychosomatik [DE]
Telefon-Seelsorge Freiburg (crisis helpline)
◦ Available around the clock
◦ +49 (0) 800 1110111 or +49 (0) 800 1110222
◦ www.telefonseelsorge-freiburg.de [DE]
Ärztliche Notfallpraxis der Kassenärztlichen Vereinigung (Medical on-call service of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians)
◦ Available around the clock
◦ +49 (0) 761 8099 800
For questions and personal challenges
Central Academic Advising Office in the Student Service Center
First point of contact for all topics and questions relating to your studies. Confidential. Neutral. Free of charge.
◦ Individual advising sessions, open office hours and workshops
◦ Open office hours: Mon, Tue, Thu 10:00 am - 12:00 pm (noon) and Thu 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
◦ study@uni-freiburg.de, +49 (0) 761 203 4246
◦ https://www.studium.uni-freiburg.de/en
Studying with a Disability or Chronic Illness
◦ Individual advising sessions and open office hours
◦ Open office hours: Thu 10:00 am - 12:00 pm (noon)
◦ solveig.roscher@zv.uni-freiburg.de, +49 (0) 761 203 67380
◦ www.studium.uni-freiburg.de/en
Nightline
Anonymous hotline by students for students
◦ Every evening from 8:00 pm - 12:00 am (midnight), +49 (0) 761 203 9375
◦ www.nightline.uni-freiburg.de [DE, Chat in English]
protect - Protection against Discrimination and Abuse of Power
Support with experiences of discrimination and abuse of power
◦ Individual advising sessions
◦ protect@zv.uni-freiburg.de, +49 (0) 761 203 54165
◦ https://gdape.uni-freiburg.de/en/gender-and-diversity/protect-en
Equal Opportunities Office of the University of Freiburg
Advising and support on how to deal with sexual violence, harassment, digital violence and stalking
◦ Individual advising sessions
◦ gleichstellungsbeauftragte@uni-freiburg.de, +49 (0) 761 203 4222
Graduate Centre (GraCe)
Advising for doctoral candidates
◦ david.willmes@zv.uni-freiburg.de, +49 (0) 761 203 6814
In cases of stress, crises and anxiety
In phases of stress, anxiety and/or depressive thoughts, the following offers may be helpful for you:
Psychotherapeutic Counselling (PBS)
Psychotherapeutic counselling offered by the Studierendenwerk Freiburg (SWFR)
◦ Individual counselling and workshops offered by psychotherapists
◦ Office hours: Mon - Fri 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (noon)
◦ pbs@swfr.de, +49 (0) 761 210 1269
◦ https://www.swfr.de/en/soziales/psychotherapeutische-beratung
Psychotherapeutic outpatient clinic at the Department of Psychology
www.psychologie.uni-freiburg.de/ambulanz
In case of mental disorders:
◦ Registration by phone: Tue 11:00 am - 1:00 pm, Thu 10:00 am - 12:00 pm (noon)
◦ +49 (0) 761 203 3008
Focus on stress-related disorders:
◦ Registration by phone: Mon – Thu 10:00 am - 12:00 pm (noon)
◦ stress-ambulanz@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de, +49 (0) 761 203 97720
C-Punkt Münsterforum
Counselling offered by the Catholic and Protestant churches
◦ Individual counselling on site, telephone counselling and pastoral care
◦ Office hours: Mon - Fri 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
◦ info@c-punkt-freiburg.de, +49 (0) 761 70 88 95 50
◦ www.c-punkt-freiburg.de/gespraech [DE]
Frauenhorizonte
Freiburg counselling centre against sexual violence
◦ Available around the clock
◦ +49 (0) 761 285 8585
◦ www.frauenhorizonte.de/en
B2gether
Online counselling for teenagers and young adults
◦ Anonymous online counselling
◦ www.b2-onlineberatung.de/english
U25Deutschland
Especially for young people at risk of suicide
◦ Email counselling
◦ www.u25-deutschland.de [DE]
When friends are in a crisis
If you are in contact with a friend or fellow student who is going through a crisis, you can find information and support offers in this article [DE].
Of course, you can also arrange an appointment with the Central Academic Advising Office in the Student Service Center to discuss the issue and find a good way for you to deal with it.
Self care - strengthening physical and mental health
Here you can find a few tips on how you can strengthen your own mental health:
- Rituals and regularity can help you. It helps many people to plan a regular daily routine and stick to it. Try to find a good balance between study time and leisure activities. Eating regularly is also good for you: Good nutrition not only helps your body, but also your mind.
- Breaks are important: Allow yourself to take regular breaks (even from physically uncomfortable learning positions): Leaving the apartment, going for a walk, running or cycling, exploring your neighbourhood and/or doing sports, meeting friends...
- Daily times of rest, e.g. meditation, writing or spiritual practice, can be very helpful. To give you some extra support, we recommend this free tool [DE] (for download and also for the summer J) from a calendar start-up.
- Healthy sleep, sufficient exercise and a balanced diet are conducive to your mental health and it is worth focussing on these aspects - e.g. with the next tip:
- The university's Student Health Management (SGM) [DE] aims to provide a holistic, healthy environment for students. Here you can find offers on topics such as nutrition, exercise and relaxation (currently partially paused). In the course of your studies, you can also complete the UniAktiv-Pass [DE].
- Social contacts empower us and are important. This can include having a coffee with your best friend or getting involved in a university group [DE] or the International Club. You can also find many study-related offers in the ‘myUFR’ app.
- Do you have any good resolutions that you haven't yet put into practice? The simple and free Woop motivation method [DE] might help you.
- It can be very helpful to carefully dose your daily ‘news intake’ and adapt it to your personal needs. Take a moment every now and then to think about which news are good for you.
- If you would like to find out more about this topic, we recommend this free issue of ‘ZEIT Campus’ [DE] and the free PDF ‘Ein gutes Semester’ [DE] (A good semester) to get started on getting or keeping your (student) life in balance.
Planning for the future
In challenging times, it can do us good to look into the future and develop perspectives. This can help us to see the current challenges in a different light. Here you can find some ideas:
- Do you have doubts as to whether your current degree programme is still the right one for you? Have a look at the Ilias room ‘Studienzweifel’ [DE] or take part in a workshop on this topic!
- The JobTeaser Career Center might also be helpful.
- The Central Academic Advising Office also offers advising on the transition to a master's degree programme or alternatively to a career.
- Seek advice from the Federal Employment Agency University Team.
- If you are interested in pursuing doctoral studies, you can find information and advising at the university’s Graduate Centre (GraCe).
- The Center for Key Qualifications offers many helpful courses on professional skills and strengths analysis.
- Free online courses to prepare for the European labour market, such as those offered by edx or coursera [DE], can also be helpful.
- If you are thinking about starting your own business, you can get advice from the university's Entrepreneurial Office [DE].