Degree, diploma and title
If at least six candidates meet the admission requirements after the call for applications, the higher professional examination for counselors in the psychosocial field takes place annually, otherwise every two years. The federal examination can be taken in German, French and Italian. Candidates can decide for themselves in which language they wish to take the examination.
Candidates are notified at least 28 days before the start of the examination. The invitation includes the examination program (including details of the place and time of the examination as well as permitted aids), a list of experts and assessment criteria for all parts of the examination.
The higher professional examination for counselors in the psychosocial field is divided into four examination parts:
Special case:Examination candidates who are active members* of the SGfB only have to complete two of the total of four examination parts. These are examination parts 2 and 3.
1. diploma thesis (written, prepared in advance)
The diploma thesis of 40 - 60 A4 pages is prepared in advance by the candidates. In it, they describe a counseling process in the psychosocial field with an individual, a couple or a group. They critically examine their own counseling practice, taking into account the available and applied theories, approaches, objectives, methods and quality assurance.
Candidates should demonstrate that they are capable of describing, reflecting on and evaluating a complex counseling process in a practice-oriented and independent manner. The formal and content-related requirements for the diploma thesis can be found in the guidelines for psychosocial counselors.
2. consulting concept (written, prepared in advance)
In this part of the examination, candidates are asked to submit a consulting concept of 15 - 20 A4 pages that provides information about their consulting activities.
In it, you explain your attitude / self-image as a counselor on various topics, such as: human image / ethical principles, counseling approach, guiding theories, general and specific counseling goals, counseling methods, file management, administration, marketing, etc.
3. counseling practice (audio/video recording) (oral, 75 minutes incl. audio/video recording)
In the third part of the examination, candidates must make an audio or video recording of a counseling session in advance and select one or two sequences of eight to ten minutes in total. The selected counseling sequences are transcribed by the candidates, and the corresponding case presentation is also written on one A4 page. This includes information about the client, the issue or problem, the context of the session and the aim of the counseling session.
The examination has three phases: At the beginning, the candidates must describe the counseling situation to the experts and describe the counseling process. To do this, they answer questions from the panel of experts. The selected counseling sequence is then shown. The candidates then answer the experts' questions.
4. final colloquium (oral, 90 minutes)
In the final colloquium, candidates demonstrate their ability to describe, critically reflect on, plausibly and theoretically justify and realistically assess their own behavior as a counselor in the psychosocial field and to derive conclusions for their future professional development in psychosocial counseling.
Candidates present their consulting concept to the panel of experts (duration: approx. 10 minutes). They then answer questions from the experts.
Diploma and title
Successful graduates of the higher professional examination receive a federal diploma and are entitled to use the federally recognized and protected title "Counsellor in the psychosocial field with a federal diploma / Counsellor in the psychosocial field with a federal diploma".
In French: "Conseillère dans le domaine psychosocial avec diplôme fédéral / conseiller dans le domaine psychosocial avec diplôme fédéral"
In Italian: "Consulente in ambito psicosociale con diploma federale"
In English (Please note that this is only a recommendation/translation and not a protected title): "Counsellor, Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education"
In addition, successful completion of the Advanced Professional Examination for Psychosocial Counselors gives you the opportunity to become an active member of the SGfB and thus also obtain the specialist title of "SGfB Counselor".
*Everything about active membership of the Swiss Association for Counseling and the SGfB specialist title can be found athere.