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Counselling Services

Students

Due to the recent and current events at NMMU, and the consequent inaccessibility of office-based support services at times, Student Counselling is making available an online counselling service to make our service more accessible.    

So what does online counselling mean?

It means that we will communicate with each other through email. The same ‘rules’ or conditions apply as with face-to-face counselling: Our conversation is confidential, free of charge to registered NMMU students, and offered by qualified counsellors and psychologists.  

How do you start online counselling?

Please send an email to our generic email address: counselling@nmmu.ac.za.  In the email, please provide the following information:

  1. Name and surname
  2. Student number
  3. Course that you are registered for and year of study
  4. The campus that you study on
  5. Referral question – a very brief paragraph or a few words about what you want counselling for
  6. The name of the counsellor you’ve seen before and when last you saw them (if this is applicable)

 Your email will then be directed to a counsellor who will make contact with you via email and ask you for more information regarding your request for counselling. From there the two of you will start your email conversation.  

This is not a chat room, so we will not be able to chat in real time, but your counsellor will respond to your email during office hours as soon as possible. 

You can, alternatively, start the counselling process by either leaving a voice message or sending an SMS to 084-0821355. Remember to include your details as requested above. A counsellor will respond to your message. (The number is, unfortunately, not reachable through WhatsApp at this stage.)   

Emergency situations

If you are in an emergency situation, it is important to understand that email counselling is not appropriate for you, as we cannot guarantee an immediate response. In case of an emergency, please use the following numbers for assistance: 

  • NMMU Protection Services: 041-504 2009 or 041-5043483
  • Suicide Emergency Line: 0800 567 567 or SMS 31393 for a call back
  • Life Line: 0861 322 322 (Counselling available 24/7) 
  • SA Depression and Anxiety Group 24-hour helpline:  0800 12 13 14 

The staff at Student Counselling are looking forward to be of service to you.

For personal interaction students can e-mail Dr Hanna van Lingen (hanna.vanlingen@nmmu.ac.za) with their name and contact details and she will arrange for a meeting with a counsellor.

Staff

WELLNESS@NMMU: Care Centre: 0800 205 333

Wellness@NMMU is very aware of the enormous challenges that all employees are dealing with as a result of the current instability on campuses.  

Wellness services remain open and available to all employees 24/7! Due to the current unstable situation, it is not advisable to place external therapists at the various campuses at this time. However, FULL clinical services (e.g. stress and trauma counselling) remain available off-site.

PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CALL THE Wellness@NMMU CARE CENTRE AT 0800 205 333. Counselling services are conducted by external, qualified clinicians.

Although the on-site services are available, staff members who feel that their immediate dependents also need support, can access the services off-site (appointments also made through the Care Centre).

Please contact the Care Centre on 0800 205 333 and request counselling services at any of the above sites or off-site, if required.