We require many professions to confirm their qualifications with an appropriate diploma, especially when they are professions related to our health. For many years - more than two decades in fact - psychologists and psychologists could also be called people who did not complete their field studies. Due to the lack of adequate legal regulations, until recently it was enough to complete the course to offer their services under the name of psychological consultation.

While many years ago, when psychology - especially in Poland - was not yet as developed and broad a field as it is today, this situation did not arouse much controversy, but now, when more and more people use psychological help, and the practice itself ceases to be burdened with taboos characteristic of the past, the need for people helping others to have adequate professional training is increasingly recognized.

Although the law significantly strengthens the protection of the profession itself and the safety of people receiving psychological services, it has not been without amendments introduced at the last line and protests from some of the environment. What has been achieved with its signing, and what is still to be worked out?

Who will be able to practice the profession of psychologist from now on?

On January 9, 2026, the Sejm adopted the Law on the profession of psychologist and the professional self-government of psychologists. On February 12, it was signed by the President of the Republic of Poland, and on March 5, the regulations entered into force. Thanks to the new regulations, three key objectives can be achieved: to protect and improve the quality of services provided, to increase the safety of those who use them and to represent the interests of psychologists and psychologists.

One of the most important changes is the introduction of the requirement to have the right to practice, which is intended to protect people who use psychological services from unqualified persons claiming to be psychologists. The law assumes the need to complete studies in the field of psychology - first and second cycle studies or unified master's studies. This requirement is of particular importance in the context of possible abuses in the psychologist-beneficiary relationship, but it also performs a preventive function. The new rules are intended to limit the use of unproven, unscientific practices, because a person applying for psychological help will no longer end up with a person who has only given himself such a title.

Importantly, people who have completed the required studies before the entry into force of the law will be able to enter the Register of Psychologists. The right to practice the profession will also be granted to persons with qualifications obtained in the countries of the European Union and persons with diplomas obtained outside its borders - after meeting the relevant requirements for recognition of qualifications. From now on, practicing the profession of psychologist will require an entry in the Register of Psychologists, maintained under the supervision of regional councils of psychologists. A psychologist starting professional work will be obliged to cooperate with a supervising psychologist, that is, a person with relevant work experience. This obligation does not apply to persons who have acquired the required education and experience before the entry into force of the Act.

The new legislation also imposes on psychologists the obligation to maintain professional secrecy, to keep psychological records and to ensure the protection of personal data.

What does professional self-government do?

By virtue of the Act, a professional self-government of psychologists is established, whose tasks include, among others:

• representing the professional environment,
• taking care of the correct performance of the profession of psychologist,
• conducting disciplinary proceedings,
• concern for compliance with the principles of professional ethics and support for the professional development of psychologists.

The supervision of the activities of the local government is exercised by the minister responsible for labor affairs.

Important fixes

On the last straight to the bill, several amendments proposed by the Senate were introduced. They concerned, above all, the clarification of the procedure for removing a psychologist from the professional register and the rules for providing assistance to minors without the consent of the guardian.

In the first case, the Senators clarified that any negative opinion regarding the removal of a psychologist from the Register of Psychologists must be compulsorily subjected to additional verification by a commission appointed by the regional council of psychologists, responsible for maintaining the register. Prior to the introduction of this amendment, reconsideration of the case occurred solely at the request of the psychologist himself. This meant that in the event of a negative opinion issued in the course of disciplinary proceedings, it was the person concerned who had to file an appeal on his own so that the decision could be re-examined. At present, any negative opinion will automatically be subject to re-examination by the commission, which is intended to increase the reliability of the procedure and reduce the risk of rash removal from the register and thus the loss of the right to practice.

The second amendment concerns rules for the provision of psychological benefits to minors and incapacitated persons without obtaining the consent of the legal representative. After changes, such support can only be provided on an ad hoc basis - in a crisis situation or experience of trauma. This is an important clarification of the rules, which reduces the risk of overinterpretation and clearly defines the scope of permissible actions of the psychologist. At the same time, this solution does not violate the rights of the legal representative, and at the same time allows you to provide the necessary assistance in situations requiring immediate intervention.

The law that bypassed psychotherapy

The greatest controversy was the removal of psychotherapy from the catalog of benefits assigned to the profession of psychologist. Although the law introduces the concept of psychological benefit, the lack of psychotherapy in this list has provoked numerous protests from parts of the professional community. Why was this change so important? The new regulations sorted out the status of the psychologist as a regulated profession, but at the same time left psychotherapy outside its statutory framework. In practice, this means that the psychologist and the psychotherapist are not identical professional roles, and the paths of their education and the principles of carrying out these activities remain separate.

A psychologist can still conduct psychotherapy, but on the principles resulting from other regulations and training standards, and not directly from the law on the profession of psychologist. Critics of this decision point out that this leads to a situation in which people after many years of psychological studies and clinical specializations may be obliged to undergo additional psychotherapeutic training on the same terms as graduates of other fields of study.

Proponents of the changes, on the other hand, argue that separating the two areas puts the system in order and leaves psychotherapy as a separate field requiring its own standards of education and certification. This dispute shows that although the law regulates the profession of psychologist, the question of the legal status of psychotherapy in Poland still remains open - in professional practice, as a psychologist, it is best to clearly separate the benefits specified in the law and a separate path of psychotherapy - thanks to the appropriate documentation, some ambiguity can be avoided.

Sources:

1. https://www.gov.pl/web/rodzina/ustawa-o-zawodzie-psychologa-z-podpisem-prezydenta
2. https://pap-mediaroom.pl/polityka-i-spoleczenstwo/mrpips-ustawa-o-zawodzie-psychologa-oraz-samorzadzie-zawodowym-przyjeta
3. https://orka.sejm.gov.pl/proc10.nsf/ustawy/1344_u.htm
4. https://www.prawo.pl/zdrowie/ustawa-o-zawodzie-psychologa-opublikowana,1537068.html