Full-time course in psychotherapy successfully accredited.
Neuruppin, 27 January 2022
The new Bachelor course “Psychology” (B.Sc.) and the new Master course “Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy” (M.Sc.), both compliant with medical licensing regulations, have been accredited up to September 2026, according to information received from the accrediting agency AHPGS.
Prof. Thomas Stamm (clinical psychology and psychotherapy / former MHB dean for student affairs) is highly pleased with, and personally motivated by, the successful completion of a three-year procedure: “We were the first university nationwide to offer this full-time course in compliance with licensing regulations, and are now the first to receive accreditation, having cleared all regulatory hurdles. My thanks go to all colleagues involved in this process, specifically to Prof. Johannes Lindenmeyer as the dedicated mastermind behind the profiling of course contents, and to Christina Schardt as project coordinator who kept all aspects of the complicated procedure – from planning and approval to implementation - under control at all times.”
MHB president Prof. Hans-Uwe Simon thanks the entire team for their performance. The successful accreditation of the new psychology courses in compliance with licensing regulations, so Simon, is another major step forward and of significance for the imminent accreditation of the MHB.
Background information
The law reforming psychotherapist training which came into force in September 2020 offers new and notably improved conditions for the qualification as a psychotherapist. In future, graduates of a Bachelor course and a subsequent Master course of at least 5 years’ total duration with precisely defined content are licensed to practice psychotherapy. These studies are followed by a 5-year specialization as a “psychotherapist in further training” with significantly improved remuneration.
Ever since its foundation the MHB has relied on a large network of cooperating clinical facilities. Clinical-therapeutic practice is part of instruction from the first semester. The MHB-specific Clinic Day offers training in psychotherapeutic skills in close contact with patients and hospitals and is unique among medical schools nationwide. This is an ideal setting for students to gain important experience for their professional future right from the start. Further elements of practice-orientated medical education are small groups, the innovative format of POL (problem-oriented learning) and regular exchange in TRIK seminars under professional supervision.
At the MHB the full-time programme in psychotherapy comprises a polyvalent three-year Bachelor course in “Psychology” (B.Sc.) and a subsequent Master course in “Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy” (M.Sc.). Psychology studies at the MHB conclude with a nationwide standardized state examination and a limited license to practice. In analogy to medical training, they are followed by 5 years of full-time further training in inpatient and outpatient settings with the option of further specialization in the treatment of adults or children and adolescents. For the period of specialization, MHB graduates will now be in permanent employment with collectively agreed salaries.
The Brandenburg Ministry for Science, Research and Cultural Affairs recognized the MHB as a higher education institution equivalent to universities on 8 July 2014. The MHB “Bachelor of Science” and “Master of Science” in psychology have thus been legally equivalent to corresponding degrees awarded by all other German universities from the beginning. The Ministry also recognized and approved the two new Bachelor and Master courses.
With the recently accredited full-time course in psychotherapy, the MHB is the first university in Germany to have completely cleared all regulatory hurdles for the new psychology courses in compliance with licensing regulations.