The Institute of Psychology has been accredited by the Centre for Medical Postgraduate Education to run a specialisation in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy. In northern Poland, it is the only institution with such authorisation, with only nine of them in the country. The accreditation is linked to the newly created postgraduate course Psychotherapy of Children and Adolescents in the cognitive-behavioural stream, headed by prof. dr hab. Małgorzata Lipowska.
For clinical psychologists and therapists (especially those working in health care), obtaining the title of specialist in a field applicable to health care confirms the highest level of clinical qualification. Applicants for the specialist title must undergo a four-year specialisation training in a unit accredited by the CMKP and pass a state examination (PESoz - State Specialist Examination in Healthcare). Recruitment for training is done through the Voivodeship Office.
The specialisation in child and adolescent psychotherapy was introduced in 2019. It can be pursued in one of five strands: psychoanalytic and psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural, systemic, humanistic-experiential or integrative. The Institute of Psychology at UG has been granted the right to specialise in the cognitive-behavioural stream.
‘At the moment, there are only nine institutions in Poland that have been accredited to run specialisations in child and adolescent psychotherapy,' says prof. dr hab. Małgorzata Lipowska. It is, among other things, thanks to her efforts that the Institute of Psychology can boast the new rights. ‘A major challenge was to develop a specialisation programme adapted to the requirements of the Ministry of Health. One of the conditions was to provide candidates with the opportunity to complete clinical internships,' adds prof. Lipowska. The required internships will be possible to be completed at facilities cooperating with the Institute of Psychology, e.g. at the Prof. Tadeusz Bilikiewicz Regional Psychiatric Hospital, at the Specialist Hospital in Kościerzyna, or at the Gdansk Health Centre.
In the Pomeranian Voivodeship, the Institute of Psychology of the UG is at the moment the only centre accredited to provide specialisation in child and adolescent psychotherapy. It is also accredited by the CMPK to provide specialisation in clinical psychology - as one of two centres (besides the Department of Clinical Psychology of the MUG) in the voivodeship and sixteen in Poland.
Recruitment for postgraduate studies allowing for specialisation in child and adolescent psychotherapy will be launched later in 2024.