The mental health of students: Mapping Psychosocial Counselling Services at Universities and Student Services Organizations in Germany

In the PsychKOMPASS project, the CHE Centre for Higher Education is collaborating with the University of Duisburg-Essen (Chair of Health Care Management and Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LVR-University Hospital Essen) to analyze the psychosocial counselling structures at universities and student services organizations in Germany. The

project aims to provide a systematic overview of existing services and their organizational structure, identify students’ needs and, based on this, formulate evidence-based, practice-oriented recommendations for their further development.

The project therefore contributes to the sustainable improvement of psychosocial support and counselling services for specific target groups of students at German universities. Taking various perspectives into account ensures that the recommendations developed are both needs-based and feasible, offering relevant benefits for academia and practice.

Methodologically, the project follows a mixed-methods design. First, an inventory of existing psychosocial services will be conducted through the structured analysis of websites and documents, as well as a standardized online survey of responsible stakeholders. The collected data will then be consolidated, evaluated and presented in graphical form to clearly map the counselling landscape.

Building on this, an in-depth needs analysis will be conducted from the students’ perspective. Particular attention will be given to groups with specific support needs. Barriers and challenges in utilizing existing services will also be identified. To this end, six focus groups involving students with and without special needs are planned, and the results will be evaluated through content analysis. Those who may have special needs include students with disabilities, foreign/international students, students with a migration background, students with children, students from non-academic families, students providing family care, and LGBTQ+ students.

A multi-stage Delphi method will then be employed to develop recommendations for action. As part of a comprehensive dissemination strategy, the final results will be tailored to specific target groups and communicated to universities, higher education policymakers, and other decision-makers through a project website, open-access publications, and digital event formats.