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How to become a psychotherapist in netherlands

Which diploma is needed in the case of psychotherapists, healthcare psychologists and medical physicists?

The training required to become a psychotherapist and medical physicist is different in many countries to the training in the Netherlands. The profession of healthcare psychologist is only regulated in law in the Netherlands.

In the Netherlands care providers first have to have a university diploma (Master’s qualification). After that they have to attend a post-master vocational course in psychotherapy or medical physics (four years) or healthcare psychology (two years).

The following requirements apply to these professions:

  • You have a Master’s diploma from a university which is comparable to the equivalent Dutch diploma.
  • After that you will have acquired a diploma or certificate after completing a post-master course.
  • The content and duration of this post-master course will correspond to the Dutch post-master course in healthcare psychology or physiotherapy or medical physics.
  • Course elements which are not standard in the Netherlands, such as gestalt therapy, do not count.

If you only have a Master’s diploma and work experience and have followed a number of short courses, your application will be rejected. This may not be the case, however, if your profession is regulated by law in the country you have obtained your diplomas.

You should examine the details of the Dutch course carefully before you submit an application.
 

Accreditation

The requirements to registration as licensed health psychologist or clinical psychologist vary across the world. The Clinical Psychology Master’s curriculum is accredited within the Dutch system of education and training in clinical psychology. Formal accreditation in other countries is conducted by the national association of psychologists of the particular country. For more information, please contact your national association of psychologists for more information (for addresses please visit http://www.iupsys.net/about/members/national-members/ or http://www.apa.org/international/networks/organizations/national-orgs.aspx).

In the Netherlands, post-graduate training is required to become a registered Health Care Psychologist ‘Gezondheidszorgpsycholoog’ (2 year program) or registered Clinical Psychologist ‘Klinisch Psycholoog’ (an additional 4 year program). Note that these post-graduate programmes are offered in Dutch only. The Clinical Psychology track when having done a clinical internship meets the admission requirements for the Health Care Psychologist training.

These websites provide more information regarding admission requirements and regulations of the post-academic training in the Netherlands: www.rinogroep.nl/GZ, https://www.ppo-opleidingen.nl/, http://www.vlogo.nl/categorie/logo-verklaring.

ACADEMIC CAREER

  • Researcher, e.g. PhD candidate

What will your work entail?
As a PhD candidate you will conduct four years of research at a domestic or foreign university. You will publish scientific articles and give lectures to students. After defending your PhD thesis, you can continue in a research position. 

TRANSITION TO THE LABOUR MARKET

The programme prepares you for work in the mental healthcare field. 

You will, for example, be qualified to work as:

  • a basic psychologist (in a clinical setting)

You can work at various types of institutions such as:

  • institutions for (ambulatory) mental healthcare (such as the Riagg ambulatory mental health services)
  • hospitals
  • care and nursing homes
  • rehabilitation centres
  • psychiatric institutions
  • institutions for refugee care
  • judicial institutions
  • practice support General Practitioner care

What will your work entail?

  • diagnostics
  • treatment
  • policymaking

Further development
The clinical track is a basic prerequisite for specialised BIG Post-Master’s programmes.

Netherlands

The situation of psychotherapy in the Netherlands, 2017

In the Netherlands a restrictive law on psychotherapy applies. The entrance level as well as the modality-training is defined by governmental bodies.

This means that only psychologists, psychiatrists and medical doctors can start a modality-training in cognitive-behavioural therapy. After their training, these psychotherapists enter a national register that had been installed by law and is being governed by a governmental authority.

All other modalities are so called ‘alternative’ therapies and are not accepted by the national register. It is even prohibited to use the word ‘psychotherapist’ as this resembles the word ‘psychotherapeut’ too much and this is one of the protected titles in the governmental register. So far, the word ‘ECP-therapist’ is used instead.

Since 1997 the NAP (the Dutch awarding organisation of EAP) started to organize the ‘alternative’ psychotherapists in the ECP register. Only modalities recognised by EAP can be registered.

NAP started a register and checked the entrance level at level 6: first University degree. Other therapists in other modalities of alternative therapies (acupuncture, osteopathy, massage therapies etc.) receive recognition by some Dutch Health Insurance Companies and they meet lower requirements than the ECP-level guarantees.

The Netherlands has a fully privatised system of medical health insurances.

To be in the NAP register and to be reimbursed by the insurance companies, therapists have to prove they meet three requirements:

  • They master the psycho-social basic knowledge (level 6) which is now mandatory for the health insurance companies;
  • They are trained in a psychotherapy modality recognized by EAP
  • They fulfil CPD requirements every two year.

The register of NAP is public and is also checked by the insurance companies.
The number of registered ECP holders with NAP is about 350.
Most psychotherapists work in private practise where clients pay about € 50,00 to € 120,00 per hour.
Most psychotherapists and psychiatrists in the state-register working in a clinical setting are paid by the clinic.

The situation of psychotherapy in the Netherlands, 2014

In the Netherlands a restrictive law on psychotherapy applies. The entrance level as well as the modality-training is defined by governmental bodies.

This means that only psychologists, psychiatrists and medical doctors can start a modality-training in cognitive-behavioural therapy or family therapy. After their training, these psychotherapists enter a national register that had been installed by law and is being governed by a governmental authority.

All other modalities are so called ‘alternative’ therapies and are not accepted by the national register. It is even prohibited to use the word ‘psychotherapist’ as this resembles the word ‘psychotherapeut’ too much and this is one of the protected titles in the governmental register. So far, the word ‘ECP-therapist’ is used instead.

Since 1997 the NAP (the Dutch awarding organisation of EAP) started to organize the ‘alternative’ psychotherapists in the ECP register.
NAP started a register and checked the entrance level at level 6: first University degree. To do this thoroughly, NAP described 11 modules to which students have to prove they master the topics at level 6. The subjects of these modules are mentioned in the ECP text.

NAP registers two student levels as well. Other therapists in other modalities of alternative therapies (acupuncture, osteopathy, massage therapies etc.) receive recognition by some Dutch Health Insurance Companies and they meet lower requirements than the ECP-level guarantees. As a consequence, the student level-registration at NAP can in some cases also lead to recognition by some health insurance companies, which then leads to partial refund of the cost of therapy to clients by their insurer.

The Netherlands has a fully privatised system of medical health insurances.

To be in the NAP register, therapists have to prove they meet three requirements:

  • They master the 11 modules of the entrance level;
  • They are trained in a psychotherapy modality recognized by EAP
  • They fulfil CPD requirements every year.

The register of NAP is public. The number of registered ECP holders is about 400, trained in one of the modalities recognized in EAP.

In 2013 and 2014 the healthcare insurance companies stopped to reimburse almost all psychotherapists, the ‘recognized’ field and the ‘alternative’ field.

Most psychotherapists work in private practise where clients pay about € 50, 00 to € 120,00 per hour. Most psychotherapists and psychiatrists in the state-register working in a clinical setting are paid by the clinic.

@Jinoys


Hi J,

My experience ended up being unfruitful, unfortunately. In order to get BIG registration and practice in the Dutch NHS equivalent, your Dutch language proficiency needs to be at B2 level, which is tested, and you also need to pass two other exams, one based on clinical knowledge, which is fine, and the other based on the Dutch healthcare system. Thus you need to know both the language and the system in order to practice in the public sector. Which I ended up not pursuing, seeing how many years that would have taken me.


What I did instead was looking for work in the private sector, and for the NHS working from here. You can find a number of English speaking private practices with a quick Google search, whereas for NHS overseas fully remote work, I recommend searching through an agency (I use Pulse); agencies are more oriented towards fixed term contracts, and it is technically agency work so no paid A/L, no pension contributions etc. however in my experience still more straightforward than working in the private sector here.



Any other questions, please let me know, I’d be more than happy to help if I can! Best of luck with your move and job hunt in the meanwhile!



Matteo

National Requirements Netherlands

 

Applying for EuroPsy in the Netherlands? Visit website 

  • Psychology education

The education for psychologists leading to professional recognition in the Netherlands is as follows:
3-year bachelors honours degree + 1 year master’s degree +  2 years of additional supervised training.
The university curriculum is in line with EuroPsy standards, the national accreditation authority monitors the educational content delivered on university programmes. 

  • The following university programmes meet EuroPsy requirements:

Name of university

CityMA/MSc degreeErasmus Universieit RotterdamRotterdamMSc PsychologyOpen UniversityHeerlenMSc PsychologyRadboud UniversiteitNijmegenMSc PsychologyRijksuniversiteit GroningenGroningenMSc PsychologyTilburg UniversityTilburgMSc PsychologyTwente UniversityTwenteMSc PsychologyUniversiteit LeidenLeidenMSc PsychologyUniversiteit MaastrichtMaastrichtMSc PsychologyUniversiteit UtrechtUtrechtMSc PsychologyUniversiteit van AmsterdamAmsterdamMSc PsychologyVrije UniversiteitAmsterdamMSc Psychology

  • Supervised practice arrangements (for the EuroPsy Certificate) 

Those who have completed a three years bachelors degree, a one year master’s degree programme, and 2 additional years of follow on training are eligible to apply for the EuroPsy. There are currently three taught training programmes which have been developed to fulfil registration requirements for Health Care Psychologists, Child & Youth Psychologists, and Work & Organisational Psychologists. One year during this training programme must include supervised practice.

  • Arrangements for training of supervisors

Supervisors must be NIP or BIG registered. They must have five years of work experience post-qualification and are required to have met the necessary ‘supervisor  training’ to be an accredited supervisor. National arrangements for training of supervisors are in place for the NIP Registered psychologists and Child and Youth psychologists.

  • Recognition of title

Health Care Psychologists are registered by a law known as the ‘BIG’ registration, which is regulated by the government. Child & Youth Psychologist, and Work & Organisational Psychologists are registered and regulated by the Dutch Association of Psychologists (Nederlands Instituut van Psychologen, NIP). More information here.

  • License to practise

 

  • Continuing professional development (CPD)

Continuous professional development requirements are in place across training programmes for Health Care psychology, Child and Youth psychology and Work and Organisational psychology. Those who hold the BIG registration have to apply for a revalidation every 5 years, evidencing CPD carried out. Those who hold the NIP (Child & Youth psychologists and Work and Organisational psychologists) registration must also apply for a revalidation every 5 years, evidencing at least 120 hours in five years in a range of different types of professional development activities.

 

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