Interdisciplinary focus title

The prerequisite for obtaining the title of specialist is a completed specialist training and a quantitatively and qualitatively correct continuing education curriculum of at least 360 SAPPM-recognized continuing education credits, in accordance with the continuing education program“Psychosomatic and Psychosocial Medicine SAPPM” (last revision 2019).
Maintaining the specialty title requires an obligatory annual training workload of at least 20 SAPPM-recognized training credits.

The training courses offered by SAPPM-certified Swiss continuing education institutes (WBI), continuing education centres (WBS), continuing education modules (WBM) and continuing education sub-courses (WBTA) – hereinafter referred to as “institutions” – are recognized without restriction for attaining the iSP title.
The aforementioned institutions offer several options for continuing education curricula.

Recognition of foreign further training is carried out in accordance with Art. 33 of the WBO of the SIWF: the total number of recognized training hours completed in foreign institutions cannot exceed half of the credits required for the iSP (max. 180 of 360 credits).
The remaining hours must be completed in one of the Swiss institutions mentioned.
The approval of the Titles Commission for special exceptions to this rule must be obtained from the candidate in advance.

Requirements for external training to be recognized:

• The institution, association or trainer must be a member of the EAPM (International Association of Psychosomatic Medicine) or a nationally recognized psychosomatic training organization at the time of the candidate’s training.
  The trainers must have their own equivalent training, analogous to SAPPM trainers.
• The training body must certify in writing in the form of a list of the topics covered that the relevant content, i.e. the content required for the iSP, has been taught.
  These must be broken down into theory, skills and supervision.
• If the candidate has only completed part of the training at a corresponding foreign institution, a corresponding confirmation is required, and the rest of the training must be completed at one of the Swiss institutions mentioned.
• An exception to this is the specialist title in psychosomatic medicine acquired in Germany, which is fully recognized.
  Similar specialist titles from other countries will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
• The candidate is responsible for carrying out the necessary research and providing the required documents.
  The documents must be officially translated into one of the Swiss national languages.

The title of specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy alone is not equivalent to obtaining the title of iSP.
30% of the training (i.e. 120 hours, divided into theory, skills and supervision) must include specific psychosomatic medicine or have been acquired at one of the SAPPM-recognized institutions.

The acquisition of the (former) certificate of competence for delegated psychotherapy amounted to 60 hours of training.
This basic training and the respective certifications (if recognized) can be credited towards the acquisition of the iSP title.

Since 2017, there has been a mutual recognition agreement between the SAPPM and the SMSH (Société médicale suisse d’hypnose / Swiss Medical Society for Hypnosis), according to which 120 credits towards the iSP title are recognized for holders of the FA Medical Hypnosis SMSH, namely 29 credits of theory, 61 credits of skills and 30 credits of intervision.