With the FSP certificate your language proof is in place. Now the authority of your federal state decides on your licence as a psychotherapist. Here you read what goes into the file, what the equivalence comparison looks at and which German is used in the first session and in the report.
What your certificate proves
The FSP proves that you can run a session in German and present a case precisely: the first interview with the patient, the presentation in the team and the written report. The level is C1 in professional language and B2 in general German. The certificate is one part of the file; the licence itself comes from the authority.
In Germany there is one route to treating patients: the licence to practise (Approbation). Working as a psychologist without it is possible in counselling, assessment or research; psychotherapy in the sense of the law asks for the licence.
Hear how this sounds: Trial lesson in psychotherapy, five minutes free →
The file: what goes to the authority now
The licensing authority of your federal state decides: depending on the state a state examination office, a state office for health and social affairs or a district government. The file usually holds:
- your FSP certificate and your general German proof at B2,
- your degrees with records of subjects and hours, certified and translated,
- placements, supervision and self-experience as far as you can document them,
- your professional experience and references,
- a certificate of good conduct and a medical statement of fitness.
The authority checks whether your training matches the German one. The central office for foreign education evaluates the university degree; the licence is granted by the authority.
The equivalence of your training
Contents and hours are compared: assessment, therapeutic methods, placements and supervision. If the authority sees differences, a decision arrives with two options. Either an adaptation measure, that is supervised work covering the missing content, or a knowledge test on the material of the German training.
Important for planning: both run in German, in the language of your cases. Whoever passed the FSP has the basis and now works on structure, terminology and the tone expected in a report. After the licence comes specialist training in your method, and whoever later wants to treat patients under the statutory insurance applies for approval at the regional association.
From the decision to your first post
With the licence you apply in hospitals, outpatient units, rehabilitation centres or practices. In the interview your method counts, your experience with assessment and how you address patients. Expect a short case presentation.
Hospital contracts often follow a collective agreement, frequently the public sector one or a house agreement. It sets the pay group, the steps by years of practice and the time reserved for supervision and training: ask about it in the interview and ask in writing.
Your German in the session, the report and the team
Three situations shape the first weeks:
- The first session: open questions, reflecting, summarising, and a clear agreement at the end.
- The report: findings, diagnosis by the international classification, goal and plan, written factually.
- Team and handover: present the case in two minutes, with your assessment and the next step.
Those three are what the preparation course trains: real cases, conversation simulators and immediate correction of your sentences.
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