Psychotherapy association admits misleading marketing

The Danish Psychotherapists’ Association has admitted it was not sufficiently careful about claims that some member institutes’ courses are at master’s level, after Danish authorities rejected most of the applications they assessed, DR reports.

Several institutes had described their psychotherapy courses as equivalent to, meeting the standard of, or assessed at the level of a Danish or European master’s degree. But documents obtained by DR’s P1 Morgen show that five of six institutes assessed by Danish authorities in 2025 and 2026 were rejected.

Four of the rejected institutes continued to advertise their courses as level 7, or as assessed at level 7 in the Danish or European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning. Level 7 corresponds to master’s level in both frameworks. Three of the institutes have since removed the claims from their websites.

The association has also used assessments by Crossfields Europe, a private company. The assessments said the courses were as demanding as a master’s degree, but a private assessment of a privately funded course does not award a formal degree or credits in the official education system. It is an assessment of the course’s academic level.

Including institutes that did not apply for an assessment by the Danish authorities, 10 institutes had claimed at some point in 2026 that their courses were at master’s level. Health law lecturer Kent Kristensen of Aalborg University said the claims gave prospective students a misleading impression of what they would receive.

Association chair Christina Lethien told P1 Morgen that the association had not been sufficiently attentive to how its members described their courses. She said it was the association’s responsibility to ensure marketing was not misleading.

In September 2026, the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science asked the association to stop using the term “level-assessed”, saying only public authorities could use it. The agency also said a course could not be level-assessed against the European Qualifications Framework. Lethien said the association would continue working with Crossfields Europe, while stressing that its assessment was private and independent, not an official Danish assessment or a degree-awarding master’s programme.

The association has argued that master’s-level assessments could be a step towards authorisation for psychotherapists and protection of the professional title. Psychotherapists do not currently have authorisation to work in the public health service, unlike professionals such as psychologists, doctors and physiotherapists.