Overview of the Professional Competencies: Domains and Categories of Competency

Domains of Activity

There are several different 'domains' of activity (or areas of functioning) that relate to the work of a professional psychotherapist. Each of these domains include a number of different competencies. A professional European psychotherapist would have to be able to demonstrate their competencies for each of these domains of activity:

  1. Professional, Autonomous & Accountable Practice To check the Core Competencies within this domain, click here.
  2. The Psychotherapeutic Relationship To check the Core Competencies within this domain, click here
  3. Exploration (Assessment, Diagnosis & Conceptualization) To check the Core Competencies within this domain, click here
  4. 'Contracting' (Goals, Plans & Strategies) To check the Core Competencies within this domain, click here
  5. Various Techniques and Interventions To check the Core Competencies within this domain, click here
  6. Management of Change, Trauma & Crisis Work To check the Core Competencies within this domain, click here
  7. Completion & Evaluation To check the Core Competencies within this domain, click here
  8. Collaboration with Other Professionals To check the Core Competencies within this domain, click here
  9. Use of Supervision, (Peer) Intervision and Critical Evaluation To check the Core Competencies within this domain, click here
  10. Ethics, Standards and Sensitivities To check the Core Competencies within this domain, click here
  11. Management & Administration To check the Core Competencies within this domain, click here
  12. Research To check the Core Competencies within this domain, click here
  13. Prevention & Education To check the Core Competencies within this domain, click here)

NB: These Core Competencies have now been finalised (July 2013). To see a PDF download of this document, click here.

Categories of Competency

There are also three main 'categories' of professional competencies for a European psychotherapist:

  1. The 'Core' Competencies that are considered necessary and essential (fundamental) for any professional person practicing any type of psychotherapy, in any method, in any situation, and/or in any country.
    The Core Competencies in the various Domains have now been completed (July 2013), please click here.
  2. 'Specific' Competencies are those that are additionally specified, either:
    1. as necessary by a particular type of mainstream, modality or method of psychotherapy, or;
    2. are those that may be specified as necessary by a particular country, according to their national regulations or laws.
      The Specific Competencies in the various Domains will start to be developed in Oct. 2012. Some modalities have already started.
  3. 'Specialist' Competencies that are those that are needed only when practicing psychotherapy with:
    1. particular client groups (e.g. psychotherapy with … children, adolescents, psychotics, people with learning difficulties, addicts, the aged, etc.), or;
    2. in certain special settings (e.g. psychotherapy in … psychiatric hospitals, prisons, refugee camps, groups, etc.), or;
    3. to perform certain specialist functions in psychotherapy (e.g. training, supervision, service management, etc.)
      The Specialist Competencies in the various Domains will start to be developed - probably in 2015.

Working Group on Professional Competencies: committee@psychotherapy-competency.eu