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What are the legal requirements to call yourself a clinical psychologist and do therapy in Lithuania?What
are the legal requirements to call yourself a clinical psychologist and do
therapy in Lithuania? Do you just need to graduate from a Lithuanian university
with a master degree in psychology and then you are licensed to do therapy? Also,
do you distinguish between psychologist / therapist / psychotherapist etc. - is
psychologist a protected title?
ATSAKYMAS
(2020-04-23) Currently
we have no psychology or psychotherapy laws in Lithuanian. Adoption of these
laws is pending thus psychologist or psychotherapist are not protected titles.
The same applies to clinical psychologists. The
only title which is regulated in Lithuania by the order of the Minister of
Health, is a title of medical psychologist. Medical psychologist is a
psychologist, who graduated from university with a master degree in clinical or
health psychology, who has a professional seal with professional number
provided by the state accreditation body and who is practicing in a health care
institution which also is licensed to provide personal health care services.
Medical psychologists work in various mental health care setting including
primary care, psychiatric hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, etc. Thus, in
many cases this title might be considered as synonym for clinical psychologist. Historically,
psychologists are called clinical psychologists in Lithuania, if they have
graduated from Vilnius University Clinical Psychology Master program, or they
have long standing experience working in clinical settings. Situation
with psychotherapist title is even more complicated. In health care settings
only medical doctors, who have special additional education in psychotherapy,
could be called psychotherapist. However, historically both medical doctors and
psychologists are studying at the same postgraduate psychotherapy programs and
have the same psychotherapy skills. Thus, working in private practice many
psychologists, who have additional postgraduate education in psychotherapy,
call themselves psychotherapist, and use this title. However, in state health
care institutions psychologists with psychotherapy education could not practice
independently and their services are called as “application of
psychotherapeutic techniques”, but not psychotherapy. On the other hand,
because psychotherapist title is not protected it is sometimes used and misused
by people who have no education in psychology at all, or by psychologists who
have no special postgraduate education in psychotherapy. Lithuanian
Psychologist Society is working hard on political level to change this
situation as well as to increase public awareness about importance of
professional education and proper use of titles. We hope thing will improve in
near future.
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