Psychotherapist CV: Example and Template
How to structure your CV as a psychotherapist in Switzerland - with your federal postgraduate qualification, therapeutic approach, case numbers and licensing details.
Currently 16 open Psychotherapist positions in Switzerland, across 6 cantons, 2 of them from the last 7 days. pia advertises the most.
CV example — two-page template
This template is editable straight away — or upload your existing CV and it is carried into this layout automatically.
What qualification do you need to work as a psychotherapist in Switzerland?
You need a federal postgraduate qualification in psychotherapy under the Psychology Professions Act (PsyG) as well as a cantonal practice licence - both belong right at the top of your CV.
The foundation is a Master's degree in Psychology with a sufficient clinical component, followed by an accredited postgraduate programme in a recognised approach, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, systemic therapy, or psychoanalytic or humanistic psychotherapy. This postgraduate training typically takes four to six years and includes theory, at least two years of clinical practice in a psychotherapeutic-psychiatric institution, self-experience, supervision and documented treatment cases. State the institute, the therapeutic approach and the year the qualification was awarded on your CV.
Equally important are the formal credentials: registration in the Psychology Professions Register (PsyReg), a GLN number, and the licence from the cantonal health department or cantonal medical office. State the canton and validity directly in the header or under 'At a Glance'. Anyone who obtained their qualification abroad should show recognition by the Psychology Professions Commission (PsyKo) - this saves HR staff from having to follow up.
Specialist titles such as Specialist in Psychotherapy FSP, membership in ASP or SBAP, and additional certificates in EMDR, DBT, schema therapy or CBASP belong in their own section. Since the introduction of the referral model in 2022, employers also pay attention to whether you can bill independently through mandatory health insurance - mention this explicitly if it applies.
How do you present your professional experience as a psychotherapist convincingly?
For each position, describe the setting, the clinical presentations, the workload, and measurable figures such as caseload, session numbers or drop-out rates.
The setting and level of care are the most important information: acute inpatient psychiatry, day clinic, outpatient institutional clinic or private practice all involve completely different requirements. Add the target group (adults, children and adolescents, old-age psychiatry, forensics), the typical diagnoses under ICD-10 or ICD-11, and the number of beds or places at the institution. One sentence of context per position is enough, followed by the results.
Quantify consistently: number of ongoing cases, sessions per year, initial consultations, reports produced, on-call duties, groups led or participants per cohort. Effectiveness can be credibly demonstrated through outcome measures, such as the average score reduction on the BDI-II or BAI, drop-out rates, or waiting time to the initial consultation. Be mindful of data protection: no case vignettes, no identifiable details, only aggregated figures.
Also show the side tracks that matter in Swiss everyday practice: interprofessional collaboration with psychiatry, social services and nursing, cooperation with disability insurance (IV) offices, child and adult protection authorities (KESB) and referrers, reporting to insurers, and supervision and peer consultation. Anyone who has mentored postgraduate trainees or built up a group programme demonstrates leadership and development potential - back this up with hours or numbers mentored rather than adjectives.
How long should the CV be, and should it include a photo?
Two to three pages are standard for psychotherapists; a professional portrait photo is still generally welcomed in Switzerland, but it is not mandatory.
With eleven or more years of professional experience, three pages are acceptable, since therapeutic approaches, further training, supervision hours and licences all need space. Keep the first page free for your profile, qualification, licence and current position - this is the part that gets read in the first 30 seconds. Summarise older positions from around 15 years back in a single short line.
Swiss standard practice includes location and canton, citizenship or residence permit, a professional photo at the top, and clear dates in MM/YYYY format. Leave out details on marital status, religion or denomination, and avoid lengthy hobby lists. A seamless chronology is important: state parental leave, time abroad or a sabbatical factually in a single line.
Include the relevant supporting documents in your dossier: qualification certificate, licence, PsyReg extract, references, and if applicable proof of professional liability insurance. Salary expectations do not belong in the CV, but at most in the cover letter if requested; as a guide, salaried positions range from CHF 95'000 to CHF 135'000 per year depending on canton, workload and experience. Save the dossier as a PDF with a clear file name, such as 'CV_Baumgartner_Psychotherapist.pdf'.
Where Psychotherapist are hired in Switzerland
How the 16 open positions are spread across the cantons.
Figures as a table
| Canton | postings |
|---|---|
| Bern | 3 |
| Zürich | 2 |
| Basel-Stadt | 1 |
| Zug | 1 |
| Luzern | 1 |
| St. Gallen | 1 |
Which languages the postings require
Of 14 postings that state a language — in brackets, those requiring professional level.
Figures as a table
| Language | postings |
|---|---|
| German | 14 (14) |
| French | 1 (0) |
Who hires Psychotherapist in Switzerland
Employers with the most open positions. Staffing agencies are excluded.
Figures as a table
| Employer | postings |
|---|---|
| pia | 4 |
| Lighthome Psychotherapie | 2 |
| Föderation der Schweizer Psycholog:innen (FSP) | 2 |
| leit | 2 |
| pt | 2 |
| Arud Zentrum für Suchtmedizin | 1 |
Full-time or part-time?
How the positions are advertised.
Figures as a table
| Workload | postings |
|---|---|
| Vollzeit / plein temps | 6 |
| Teilzeit / partiel | 2 |
The CV in full
To read through and reuse.
Andrin Baumgartner
Federally Recognised Psychotherapist (Specialist in Psychotherapy FSP), Focus on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Psychotherapist with a federal postgraduate qualification under the PsyG and eleven years of experience in inpatient, day-clinic and outpatient care for adults. Focus areas are depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders as well as complex trauma-related disorders, treated with CBT, schema therapy and EMDR. Has run his own practice mandate since 2021 with around 620 sessions per year under the referral model (Anordnungsmodell) and supervises four postgraduate trainees.
What sets me apart
Title and licence fully documented: Federal postgraduate qualification in psychotherapy, PsyReg registration, GLN number and an unlimited practice licence from the Canton of Zurich - employers can proceed with hiring and billing without additional verification loops.
Confident with the referral model: Has processed over 700 referrals from GPs and specialists since the 2022 changeover, including timely progress reports after 15 and 30 sessions and cost approvals for long-term treatment courses.
Breadth of methods with a clinical focus: CBT as the core approach, supplemented by schema therapy for personality-related issues and EMDR for PTSD - 82 percent of trauma cases concluded with clinically relevant symptom reduction (IES-R).
Diagnostics and quality assurance: Structured intake diagnostics using SKID-5 and ICD-11 coding, plus routine outcome monitoring (BDI-II, BSI-18) for 100 percent of cases as the basis for treatment planning and reports.
Key achievements
Reduced outpatient waiting time from 14 to 5 weeks. Introduced a tiered initial-consultation triage model with a 20-minute screening and group offering; as a result, 240 referrals per year were seen within five weeks.
Built up a group programme for anxiety disorders. Developed a 12-week CBT group manual for panic disorder and social phobia; 14 cohorts with 128 participants, an average BAI reduction of 19 points and a drop-out rate below 9 percent.
Established a practice mandate with 620 sessions per year. Built up his own patient base within a group practice, with 92 percent utilisation, annual revenue of around CHF 118'000 at a 60 percent workload, and receivables losses under 1 percent.
Experience
Psychotherapist, Practice Partner — Praxisgemeinschaft Lindenquai Psychotherapie GmbH, Winterthur, since 03/2021
Outpatient psychotherapy for adults under the referral model, practice with five clinicians and around 300 cases per year.
- Conducts around 620 individual 60-minute sessions per year with a caseload of 32 ongoing cases at a 60 percent workload
- Administered over 700 medical referrals under KLV Art. 11b, submitted 100 percent of progress reports on time, with no rejections from health insurers
- Provided brief crisis-psychology interventions for 45 clients following critical incidents, averaging 4 sessions per case
- Supervises 4 postgraduate trainees, totalling 90 supervision hours per year
Lead Psychotherapist, Day Clinic — Zentrum für Psychische Gesundheit Aarequai AG, Baden, 08/2017 - 02/2021
Day-clinic setting with 24 treatment places, focus on depression and burnout, interprofessional team of psychiatry, psychology, nursing and occupational therapy.
- Was responsible for the therapy programme covering 24 places and around 180 admissions per year, with an average treatment duration of 8 weeks
- Reduced treatment drop-outs from 17 to 8 percent through structured goal agreements and weekly outcome monitoring
- Provided clinical leadership for a team of 7 psychologists in postgraduate training, mentoring 3 of them through to their federal postgraduate qualification
- Established a CBASP module for chronic depression with 6 cohorts and 54 participants per year
Psychologist in Postgraduate Training as Psychotherapist, later Psychotherapist — Klinik Seeblick für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie AG, Kanton Thurgau, 09/2013 - 07/2017
Acute ward and admissions unit with 28 beds, including involuntary committals and round-the-clock crisis intervention.
- Cared for around 120 inpatient cases per year, including individual and group therapy, key-worker responsibilities and discharge planning
- Produced over 400 psychological assessment reports, including SKID-5 diagnostics and ICD-10 coding, for referrers and insurers
- Completed 160 on-call shifts involving crisis intervention and suicide-risk assessment according to the clinic's internal protocol
- Completed 600 hours of self-experience, supervision and theory within the accredited postgraduate training programme, obtaining the federal qualification in 2016
Education
Federal Postgraduate Qualification in Psychotherapy (PsyG), Cognitive behavioural therapy, accredited postgraduate programme — Weiterbildungsinstitut für Verhaltenstherapie Ostschweiz · 2016
Specialist in Psychotherapy FSP, Specialist title recognition, Federation of Swiss Psychologists — FSP, Bern · 2017
Master of Science in Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology — University of Zurich · 2013
EMDR Therapist, EMDR Institut Schweiz (2019) · Schema Therapy Certificate, recognised under ISST standards (2020) · CBASP basic course for chronic depression (2018) · Registered in the Psychology Professions Register (PsyReg) with a GLN number
Common questions
- What language should I write my CV in as a Psychotherapist?
- 100% of the adverts are in German — write the CV in German unless the advert itself is in English.
- Where in Switzerland are Psychotherapist most in demand?
- Spread out, Bern first at 19%, then Zurich and Basel-Stadt. Across a language border, apply with the matching version.
- What language level do Psychotherapist adverts ask for?
- German in 100% of adverts that state a requirement, 100% of them at professional level. "Good knowledge" will not do — give A2 to C2.
- Are Psychotherapist roles offered full or part time?
- 75% full time, only 25% part time. If you need part time, say so early rather than leaving it open.
- Who hires Psychotherapist in Switzerland?
- Currently pia, Lighthome Psychotherapie, Föderation der Schweizer Psycholog:innen (FSP), among others. Their adverts are the best word list for your own CV.