When Help Is Out of Reach: Student Mental Health Support in Kiel
Six months. That was the earliest appointment I could find after searching for mental health support as a student in Kiel. Some therapy practices never answered my emails at all. Others had completely closed their waiting lists. What surprised me most was that even the counseling services made specifically for students seemed hard to reach.
Mental health struggles among students are no longer rare. Academic pressure, financial stress, loneliness, uncertainty about the future, the constant expectation to perform. It can add up fast. Universities encourage students to seek help. But actually finding support is often much harder than just asking for it.
A business administration student at HAW Kiel said she did not know where to start when she was looking for help. The information felt unclear, and it was not obvious which service should be contacted first. A media engineering student described a similar experience. She had heard that free counseling options existed, but when she tried to access them, it took much longer than expected.
Their experiences reflect a broader issue: although several support services exist in Kiel, navigating them can be difficult and waiting times are often long.
Students at HAW Kiel and CAU have access to several support services. One of them is the psychosocial counseling offered by the AStA. According to information provided on the AStA website, the service is free, anonymous and confidential. It is intended as a first point of contact rather than psychotherapy and can take place in person, online or by phone.
While both HAW and CAU students can use the service, access to in-person appointments differs. HAW students face more limited availability, and appointments are only released seven days in advance, making long-term planning difficult.
Another source of support is the psychological counseling service offered by Studentenwerk Schleswig-Holstein. According to Kerstin Klostermann, head of communications and press spokesperson at the Studentenwerk, more than 1,400 students across Schleswig-Holstein used the service in 2025, including over 120 students from HAW Kiel. Students typically wait around five weeks for a first appointment, with waiting times reaching up to ten weeks during particularly busy periods.
Demand has remained consistently high in recent years. More than 1,500 students used the service in 2023, and over 1,500 again in 2024, with similarly high numbers in 2025. Klostermann cites academic pressure, financial worries, the transition to independent living, global crises such as inflation and climate change, and the long-term effects of the pandemic as key reasons for this sustained demand. She also notes that many students missed important social experiences during lockdown, which can still affect confidence and mental well-being today.
The Studentenwerk offers up to five free counseling sessions and can help students find a therapist or other forms of support. HAW students can also attend appointments at the Studentenwerk counseling center located at Mensa II on the University of Kiel main campus (Leibnizstraße), where they may be able to get earlier availability. In addition, a counselor is available at the HAW campus every other Friday, and students can attend a weekly drop-in session in Building C8, Room 108, without an appointment.
For urgent situations, the Zentrum für Integrative Psychiatrie (ZIP) in Kiel offers psychiatric emergency care around the clock. Crisis contacts and helpline numbers are also available for students experiencing severe distress.
A lot of students describe the time before getting professional help as particularly isolating. Counseling services can offer orientation and support in the meantime, but they cannot replace therapy. Many students get through the waiting period by talking to friends or family, reducing their workload, exercising, or using online support options. A GP (general practitioner), or Hausarzt, can also provide initial support and referrals to therapists.
The problem is not that support services do not exist. Kiel offers several free counseling options for students. The challenge is that demand has grown faster than available capacity. For many students, the hardest part is not deciding to seek help, but waiting for it.
Reaching out already takes courage. Finding out that help is still months away takes something else entirely.
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Support Services
AStA Psychosocial Counseling
Free, anonymous and confidential counseling for CAU and HAW students.
Email: psychosozial@asta.uni-kiel.de
Studentenwerk Schleswig-Holstein Psychological Counseling
Up to five free counseling sessions.
Email: psychologen.ki@studentenwerk.sh
Drop-in Counseling at HAW
Every Thursday, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Building C8, Room 108
No appointment required.
ZIP Kiel
Psychiatric emergency care available 24/7.
Niemannsweg 147, Kiel
Telefonseelsorge
Free crisis hotline available 24/7.
0800 111 0 11
