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FORMAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS - SWITZERLAND
University requirements (example: University of Basel)
The title. The degree of lic. phil is awarded after a
minimum of 4 years' study.
The law. There is no legal basis for the discipline of
psychology. Any regulation is delegated to the university which
gives a degree.
A legal basis for practice as a psychologist exists only for
the subdiscipline of psychotherapy. Therefore this profession
is not restricted to psychologists, and many other disciplines
may also gain the legal status of psychotherapist. A university
degree in psychology (level lic. phil.) is a condition but not
sufficient for getting the legal title. The legal basis for
working as a psychotherapist is achieved after about 4 years of
postgraduate education. Psychotherapists have legal status,
which they can reach after the full (university and
postgraduate) education (a minimum of 8 years of
education).
The university study lasts at least four years. Each year is
finished by an examination of variable content. The university
requirements are listed in credit points, but the equivalent of
60 credit points is shown in the first column table 1. The
equivalent is 36 hours in the first two years, 32 hours during
the third an fourth year. These requirements are the minimal
conditions.
Further specialist education and training. The formal
qualifications for the subfields are held together by the
Federation of Psychologists in Switzerland (Föderation der
Schweizer Psychologinnen und Psychologen FSP). Currently there
is no legal basis for the different subfields as described.
There is one frame of postgraduate education, which consists of
all the different subfields of practising psychology.
For postgraduate specialist subfields there are requirements
of about 750-1200 hours, in a time span of about four years.
These requirements are shown in reference 3. This is the formal
frame for every subdiscipline.
One discipline of specialist education is psychotherapy.
Postgraduate education in psychotherapy consists of 1200 hours.
At the present time there are 3 recognised curricula for
psychotherapy of adults, one of psychotherapy with children and
adolescents. Psychotherapy curricula are worked out by several
organisations. At the present time they exist from University
of Bern, the University of Basel, (both of them with a
cognitive-behavioral background) one from a society outside the
University, the Swiss Society of Gesprächspsychotherapie,
Rogers.
Psychotherapy for children and adolescents is offered by the
University of Fribourg. Curricula beyond Psychotherapy exist
for Clinical Psychology, Child and Youth-Psychology and
Neuropsychology. Finally there is a post-grad Curricula for
"Berufs- und Laufbahnberatung".
All these postgraduate curricula have as a formal initial
requirement, that every candidate has to have completed the
university degree (level lic. phil.). Many other curricula are
"in the pipeline". This is due to the fact, that the frame for
postgraduate education was finished only in 1995.
Research. The Dr. phil (PhD) may be awarded following a
substantial scientific work (2 to 5 years after the lic. phil.
degree).
Between the 7 universities in Switzerland the disciplines
offered within psychology are quite different. The formal
structure of the study that is a generic part at the beginning
and a specialist part during the second half of the study is
nevertheless about the same.
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