information:classification
Europe

As of 2015, there are still a lot of variations between different European countries about the regulation and delivery of psychotherapy. Several countries have no regulation of the practice or no protection of the title. Some have a system of voluntary registration, with independent professional organizations, while other countries attempt to restrict the practice of psychotherapy to 'mental health professionals' (psychologists and psychiatrists) with state-certified training. The titles that are protected also vary. The European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP) established the 1990 Strasbourg Declaration on Psychotherapy, which is dedicated to establishing an independent profession of psychotherapy in Europe, with pan-European standards. The EAP has already made significant contacts with the European Union & European Commission towards this end.

Given that the European Union has a primary policy about the free movement of labor within Europe, European legislation can overrule national regulations that are, in essence, forms of restrictive practices.

In Germany, the practice of psychotherapy for adults is restricted to qualified psychologists and physicians (including psychiatrists) who have completed several years of specialist practical training and certification in psychotherapy. As psychoanalysis, psychodynamic therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy meet the requirements of German health insurance companies, mental health professionals regularly opt for one of these three specializations in their postgraduate training. For psychologists, this includes three years of full-time practical training (4,200 hours), encompassing a year-long internship at an accredited psychiatric institution, six months of clinical work at an outpatient facility, 600 hours of supervised psychotherapy in an outpatient setting, and at least 600 hours of theoretical seminars. Social workers may complete the specialist training for child and teenage clients. Similarly in Italy, the practice of psychotherapy is restricted to graduates in psychology or medicine who have completed four years of recognised specialist training. Sweden has a similar restriction on the title "psychotherapist", which may only be used by professionals who have gone through a post-graduate training in psychotherapy and then applied for a licence, issued by the National Board of Health and Welfare.

Legislation in France restricts the use of the title "psychotherapist" to professionals on the National Register of Psychotherapists, which requires a training in clinical psychopathology and a period of internship which is only open to physicians or titulars of a master's degree in psychology or psychoanalysis.

Austria and Switzerland (2011) have laws that recognize multi-disciplinary functional approaches.

In the United Kingdom, the government and Health and Care Professions Council considered mandatory legal registration but decided that it was best left to professional bodies to regulate themselves, so the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) launched an Accredited Voluntary Registers scheme. Counseling and psychotherapy are not protected titles in the United Kingdom. Counsellors and psychotherapists who have trained and qualify to a certain standard (usually a level 4 Diploma) can apply to be members of the professional bodies who are listed on the PSA Accredited Registers.