For psychotherapy as an autonomous profession: what is happening in Europe?

Abstract

The European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP) was founded on the principles of the Straßbourg declaration and has over the last two decades contributed hugely to the development of psychotherapy as an independent and autonomous profession. The European Certificate of Psychotherapy, which has been awarded to approximately 6000 therapists from different European countries, defines the standards and criteria for the professional practice of psychotherapy. This article compares psychotherapy regulations in Germany, France, Italy, Latvia, Austria, Bulgaria, United Kingdom, Hungary, Malta, Holland, Finland, Bel­gium and Sweden and shows their benefits and weaknesses. They can be seen as a learning opportunity and used in the process of developing a law to regulate psychotherapy in Slovenia. With the opening in 2005 of the faculty study of psychotherapy for secondary school leavers at Sigmund Freud Private University (SFU) in Vienna a new phase in the development of psychotherapy began with the education and training for psychotherapy as an independent profession in its own right. In Slovenia the same faculty study was launched in 2006 in collaboration with SFU. This is one of the reasons why Slovenian psychotherapy is ripe to be regulated by a law which would declare psychotherapy as an autonomous health care profession.