A two-year post-master’s study and training is required when you wish to work in the Dutch individual Healthcare. Four psychological disciplines that fall under the individual healthcare are regulated by the government by a legally protected title.

• Healthcare psychologist (gezondheidszorg-psycholoog)
• Counselor (psychotherapeut)
• Clinical psychologist (klinisch psycholoog)
• Neuro-Clinical psychologist (neuroklinisch psycholoog)

In order to obtain one of these protected titles you need to take on a post-graduate training programme and register with the governmental BIG-register.

The Dutch government has appointed six institutions that are allowed to offer training courses for BIG-registered professions in the mental health care sector. Choosing one of these postmaster’s training courses will depend on your area of specialization.

If you wish to find out more about subscribing to a post-master’s course, check: www.spon-opleidingen.nl

Entry requirements for post-master’s courses

To gain entry to the most popular post-master’s psychology courses (e.g. Healthcare and counselling) you will normally need to have a bachelor and a master’s degree obtained at a research-based university. Thereby the number of places at a post graduate course are very limited and are in Dutch. If you want to get on a post-master’s course you need an intermediate level of Dutch, good results and work experience in the area you want to specialise.

As post-master’s places in Healthcare and Counselling are very limited you can also consider other post-master’s courses. Our staff will be happy to inform you about post-master’s courses. Fill in the contact form and we’ll come back to you as soon as possible.

Work experience

Most post-master’s training programmes in psychology require you to demonstrate significant work experience as one of their entry requirements. This is especially true in the areas such as healthcare psychology or clinical psychology.

You will often find that you have to work on a voluntary basis in order to gain enough experience to find paid work. Consider what type of people you want to work with and contact local organizations and charities that are relevant.

Unfortunately, our association cannot directly help you to find posts or work experience. Information on the few vacancies open to students before completing their degree is normally sent to university psychology departments.
 
The Association's monthly magazine, The Psycholoog’, has a section for vacancies  which is sent to members and is available online. Most of the vacancies listed are for qualified psychologists, but you will find some for psychology graduates.

Funding for courses
Course organizers are usually best placed to give advice on funding. Otherwise, most universities have their own foreign desks that can advise you on opportunities for funding, grants and bursaries.

The Dutch Professional Association of Psychologists does not currently offer any student bursaries.

Psychology Postgraduate Support Group, the IJsbrekers

If you are studying psychology at (post)graduate level, you may be interested in the IJbrekers-group. The IJsbrekers form a division within our association and consists of graduates and postgraduates. They stand out for the interests of newly graduated students by keeping each other informed about vacancies to gain work experience and helping out with problems occurring at unpaid positions.
Contact: NIP-ijsbrekers@hotmail.com