Anonymous, confidential and secure

Online counseling

The online psychological counseling is intended to make it easier for you to make initial contact with us. Some people are reluctant to make a personal appointment right away and would like to approach us anonymously first. We make this possible for you with up to three online counseling contacts. The goal is to then offer you a personal meeting with us, usually as a face-to-face appointment in our counseling center in Luxemburger Straße, but telephone conversations or video sessions are also possible. You will then coordinate this with your counselor. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, your counselor will try to give you tips on how and where you can find suitable digital counseling services that fit your individual needs.

In addition to email counseling, the learning online counseling also offers you chats, individually and in groups. There is no restriction regarding the online contacts.

You can ask questions to the social counseling online by email as well as in chats. There is also no restriction on the number of contacts.

Anyone studying at one of the following seven Cologne universities under our responsibility can take advantage of our counseling services:

Universität zu Köln, Technische Hochschule Köln mit allen Zweigstellen, Hochschule für Musik und Tanz, Kunsthochschule für Medien, Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, Katholische Hochschule NRW/Köln, Cologne Business School.

Yes! Due to a special encryption process, data cannot be read or stored by third parties. Prerequisite for the use of online counseling are login data that allow logging into the secure server of online counseling. The portal we use has been checked beforehand by our data protection officer.

You determine the degree of anonymity yourself by choosing your user name and providing most of the voluntary information about yourself. You only give up your anonymity when you decide to come to us for a personal consultation, face-to-face, by phone or by video. Even then:

We are under a comprehensive duty of confidentiality in our work in all areas of counseling!

Our obligation to maintain confidentiality naturally also applies to universities, examination offices, lecturers, parents, partners, health insurance companies, etc.

Generally, there is room for all topics in online counseling with which you can also come in person to psychological counseling, learning guidance, or social counseling. Your counselor will then decide with you in contact whether it is a matter that can really be dealt with sensibly by email in the further process.

The most common form of online counseling is email counseling: You write an email request in the online portal and receive a very individual answer after five working days at the latest. This applies to psychological counseling as well as to learning guidance and social counseling.

Learning guidance and social counseling also offer individual chats, we publish them in a list and then they are free to book. You have to be registered for this.

Group chats are also offered by the learning guidance. You can also book these if you are registered. Some group chats allow you to participate as a guest - without registering. To do so, you have to click on the chat at the right time on the corresponding date. Afterwards you will be asked to give yourself a name so that you can enter the chat room. However, if the group chat is already booked by registered users and the number of participants has been maxed out, you cannot join the chat as a guest.

To participate in a video chat you have to be registered first. The video chats are offered as individual appointments only. You will receive a personal invite to a video chat from your counselor.

You have to be registered as a user first. To do this, click on the "Register" button at the top of our page. You now choose a username (this does not have to be your real name!) and a password. You will then be asked a few questions, some of which are required, others are voluntary. At the end you confirm our terms of use. After registration you will automatically be redirected to your personal user account. Then check your mailbox, because you will receive a welcome mail from us, sometimes a little delayed! Now you can make your first request.

Your inquiry is sent to our virtual mailbox. All counselors who offer online counseling at our company have access to this mailbox. First, we check which counseling area (psychological, social, or learning counseling) your request concerns. Then, the respective counselors decide who will take over the request. Usually this will be the person who has time for it next. He or she will then answer your request and coordinate the further procedure with you.

All counsellors in online counseling are also those who provide counseling in our "real" counseling center of the Cologne Student Union at Luxemburger Straße 181-183.

The telephone counselling service can be reached free around the clock on

0800 111 01 11 or 0800 111 02 22.

In psychiatric emergencies, you can contact a psychiatric clinic. You can find out the areas of responsibility of the psychiatric clinics at http://www.stadt-koeln.de/3/gesundheit/psychiatrie/angebote/00292/ or by calling 0221- 47887291.

 In the case of acute danger, please call the police (emergency call, tel.: 110) or the fire department (rescue service, tel.: 112).

The use of online counseling is free for all counseling services.

We are available from Monday to Friday in the counseling office - so also for online counseling - during the usual working hours.  We do not work late evenings or nights, weekends, or holidays.

We are not a crisis service or an emergency clinic.  In emergencies, you can find all the important contact points here.

On the website of the Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists you will find all the important information about the process, procedures, cost coverage and everything else for patients.findest du alle wichtigen Infos rund um Ablauf, Verfahren, Kostenübernahmen und alles Weitere für Patient*innen. 

You can also get a first overview in the brochure "Wege zur Psychotherapie".

During the search, you will be forwarded by the Federal Chamber of Psychotherapists directly to the respective state chamber. Here you can filter according to various criteria, for which the information from the above-mentioned broschure can be helpful. 

On the website of the Kassenärztlichen Vereinigung Nordrhein (North Rhine Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians), there are other appointment service centers that arrange specialist and psychotherapeutic consultation appointments within the statutory deadlines. 

Your health insurance company will also help you find a psychotherapy appointment. However, the health insurance companies often refer you directly to the appointment service centers.