'Psychotherapist' should be a protected title, if the Danish Psychotherapy Association has its way.
But they are using misleading methods in the marketing that is supposed to lead to a protected title.
That is the assessment of Kent Kristensen, an associate professor in health law at Aalborg University.
Several institutes within the Danish Psychotherapy Association have written that their education 'corresponds to', 'meets the requirements of' or 'is assessed' to be at the level of a master's degree according to Danish or European standard.
The authorities, however, do not believe that the educations do. This is shown by documents that P1 Morgen has obtained access to.
Kent Kristensen teaches on the master's degree programs in health law at Aalborg University. (Photo: © Marlene Zøllner-Manly Marlene Zoellner Manly, DR)
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Rejected by the Danish authorities
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The Danish Psychotherapy Association has been the driving force behind ensuring that the psychotherapist educations are at a level corresponding to a master's degree or master.
They want to use it as a step towards achieving authorization and getting the psychotherapist title protected. The association itself wrote this on its website in 2023.
It is important to emphasize that a level assessment of a privately paid education is not the same as the education being able to grant credit or be degree-granting in the official system. It is merely an assessment of the education's academic level.
A level assessment is, however, a stamp that the education can be compared to other educations in the official education system.
If you get authorization to work in the public healthcare system, you can treat more patients and get more work. You can also get more political influence as a profession, Kent Kristensen points out.
Kent Kristensen is an associate professor in health law at Aalborg University. He has also researched marketing of health services. (Photo: © Marlene Zøllner-Manly Marlene Zoellner Manly, DR)
The Danish Psychotherapy Association has continuously had the association's educations assessed by a private company named Crossfields Europe.
Here it was stated that the psychotherapist educations were as difficult to take as a master's degree.
It did not go as well, however, when the psychotherapist educations were to be assessed by the Danish authorities. This happened in 2025 and 2026.
Six institutes applied to be assessed at the level of a master's degree.
Five of them were rejected on the basis that their educations did not meet the master's level. This is shown by a freedom of information request from P1 Morgen.
Nevertheless, four of the rejected educations continued to write that they offer a 'psychotherapist education at level 7', or that the educations are assessed at level 7 in the Danish or European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning.
Level 7 is master's or master's level in both qualifications frameworks.
Three of the rejected institutes have now removed the description from their website.
A protected title such as psychologist, doctor, or physiotherapist has authorization to work in the public healthcare system and is under the supervision of the Danish Patient Safety Authority. Psychotherapists do not have such authorization. (Photo: © Ida Guldbæk Arentsen, Ritzau Scanpix)
But also institutes that have not applied to the Danish authorities for a level assessment write that they have a level that meets the requirements for a master's degree according to either Danish or European standard. They are, on the other hand, assessed by the private company that the Danish Psychotherapy Association uses.
That makes a total of 10 institutes that at some point in 2026 have said that their education was at the level of a master's degree.
And that is not acceptable, says Kent Kristensen on P1 Morgen.
- You are giving students a false picture that they are getting an education that is at the level of a master's program, or what corresponds to taking a master's degree, and that is misleading.
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The authorities step into the case
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Chairperson of the Danish Psychotherapy Association, Christina Lethien, responded to the criticism on P1 Morgen.
She admits that the association has not been sharp enough on the formulations they have sent out to their members.
- It is our task to ensure that the marketing is not misleading and deceptive. And based on your research, we can see that here is a task that we may not have been sufficiently aware of, in terms of how we ensure and equip our institutes and members well enough to communicate correctly.
Christina Lethien is chairperson of the Danish Psychotherapy Association. It is Denmark's largest psychotherapist association, and according to the association itself has over 4,000 members. You can only call yourself 'Psychotherapist MPF' if you are a member of the association. (Photo: © Jørgen True, Danish Psychotherapy Association)
In September 2026, the Danish Agency for Education and Research puts its foot down.
In a letter, the agency asked the Danish Psychotherapy Association to stop using the words 'level assessed', as it is only the public authorities that may use the word. The agency also wrote:
- We also note that an education cannot be level assessed in relation to the European Qualifications Framework.
Christina Lethien says on P1 Morgen that the Danish Psychotherapy Association, however, continues to work with Crossfields Europe, which assesses the level of the educations.
- It is a private, independent, professional assessment, not an official Danish level assessment or a degree-granting master's program. Which we are also careful to communicate, the Danish Psychotherapy Association writes in a follow-up comment to DR.
Charlotte Von Bülow from Crossfields Europe responds in a written comment that they believe independent professional assessments can contribute to greater transparency about the learning outcomes of private educations.
- We take the authorities' comments on terminology and marketing seriously and are working with the Danish Psychotherapy Association on a common, precise language use, so that it is clear to students what the assessment is and what it is not, she writes.
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