Psychotherapists - Education abroad
Psychotherapists from third countries, EU, EEA and Switzerland
The application for a licence to practise as a psychotherapist is informal and includes a personally signed letter stating the applicant's details (name, address, email address, date of birth, place of birth).
In addition, a declaration must be enclosed stating that no other application has been submitted in any other federal state.
Together with the documents listed below (in single copies), the application is sent by post to the Stuttgart Regional Council:
Stuttgart Regional Council
State Recognition Office for Health Professions (LAfG BW)
Mrs Metz-Jülg
Department 95.1
Ruppmannstr. 21
70565 Stuttgart
- Proof of identity (identity card)
- Tabular list of completed training programmes in German (curriculum vitae)
- Training certificates obtained abroad with German translation by a publicly appointed and sworn translator (degree certificate with overview of subjects/hours/grades)
- Detailed breakdown of the subject content of the training (curriculum / syllabus) from the period of study or training (if not available, please contact us)
- Certificate of authorisation to practise the profession in the country of origin with a German translation from a publicly appointed and sworn translator
- Other certificates of qualification, if these are required to determine equivalence
All training documents relating to the content must be submitted in full. Documents submitted after the assessment has been completed may only have limited probative value. English-language documents can be submitted without translation, i.e. in English.
These and the other documents required for the granting of a licence to practise must be sent by post in officially certified copies after the equivalence check has been carried out and before the licence to practise is granted. We will inform you at the appropriate time.
Please note that the application can only be processed (including checking that the documents are complete) if the Stuttgart Regional Council has local jurisdiction.
Therefore, if you live or have lived in another federal state or have applied for a licence to practise in another federal state, please enclose with your application the confirmation of a position in Baden-Württemberg subject to the granting of the licence to practise.
The licence to practise is to be granted - with proof of the other prerequisites such as fully completed psychotherapeutic training, health suitability, absence of criminal convictions, sufficient German language skills - if proof of an equivalent course of study is provided.
In the equivalence assessment, the university degree and, if available, postgraduate training or further training are taken into account.
If significant differences are identified in a foreign training programme that cannot be compensated for with suitable psychotherapeutic professional experience, an adaptation measure (practical activity) or a proficiency test (test on the identified differences) can be taken to compensate for the differences in training programmes from EU, EEA states and Switzerland, and a knowledge test (which relates to the content of the German state examination) can be taken for training programmes from third countries.
With a licence to practise and a foreign psychotherapeutic training or further training, you can apply to the Landespsychotherapeutenkam-mer Baden-Württemberg for the equivalence of your foreign psychotherapeutic training or further training with the German further training to become a specialist psychotherapist.
The Psychotherapists Act changed on 01/09/2020. A (polyvalent) Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy with certain learning content, which is regulated in the Licensing Regulations (PsychThApprO) issued in connection with the PsychThG, must now be completed in order to obtain a licence to practise.
After obtaining a licence to practise, you can complete further training to become a specialist psychotherapist. If, for example, you are planning to set up your own practice with health insurance authorisation, this further training is required. The Baden-Württemberg State Chamber of Psychotherapists is responsible for organising further training.
If the examination shows that the licence to practise cannot be granted due to a lack of reference qualification, it is possible in accordance with Section 27 PsychThG (transitional regulation) to complete the training to become a psychological psychotherapist in accordance with PsychThG - old version with an equivalent foreign Master's degree in psychology, which includes the subject of clinical psychology, with a licence to practise until 01.09.2032 at the latest (as long as the Bachelor's degree programme was started before 01.09.2020). If your Master's degree in Psychology was completed with the subject Clinical Psychology, it can fulfil the admission requirements for psychotherapist training according to § 5 PsychThG - old version in conjunction with the transitional regulation according to § 27 PsychThG - new version as equivalent to the German Master's degree in Psychology. You can apply directly to a state-recognised training centre for psychotherapy with your documents. The training centre that would like to accept you as an applicant for psychotherapist training will apply to the Stuttgart Regional Council for legal information on your fulfilment of the admission requirements.
List of training centres (in german)
Another option for practising psychotherapeutic activities in the sense of medicine is the Heilpraktikererlaubnis für Psychothera-pie according to the Heilpraktikergesetz (HPG), which gives you limited authorisation to carry out psychotherapeutic treatments. An application can be submitted to the responsible health authority.
There is no official recognition from the authorities in Germany for practising as a psychologist. You can apply directly with your foreign degree certificates as a psychologist and the employer will decide for themselves whether they consider your qualifications to be suitable for the position.
Contact
Karin Metz-Jülg
Unit 95.1
0711 904-39219
karin.metz-juelg@rps.bwl.de
Contact
Recognition of foreign qualifications in the health sector
Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart
Department 95.2
Landesanerkennungsstelle für Gesundheitsberufe (LAfG BW)
Ruppmannstraße 21
70565 Stuttgart
Please submit application documents by post only.
Contact form
FAQ Academic healthcare professions (in german)