Quality Control in Psychotherapy Training - Results of the Periodic Inspection of the Membership Institutions of the Swiss Charter for Psychotherapy

Abstract

For several years the Swiss Charta for Psychotherapy has been pursuing the promotion of a higher quality of standards in psychotherapy training, the professional and training ethics and the scientific basis of psychotherapeutic methods. As a measure of quality control, a special committee inspects all of the charter member institutions to see if the agreed upon norms are being maintained, as well as any current decisions made by the charter general assembly members. In the following document the inspection process is depicted and the results show that the charter member institutions are fulfilling the promises to which they have committed themselves. The depicted process, its main strength being the direct communication between the inspectors and the institutional representatives, was well received. It is also quite an appropriate tool to stimulate further improvements in the quality of training and support the well intentioned but sometimes challenging inquiries that question the validity of traditional training policies.

Keywords:
Charter; Quality endorsement; Quality management; Psychotherapeutic training; Ethics; Science.