Psychotherapist, psychotherapy specialist or psychologist: how to tell them apart and check their right to practise

In Latvia, psychotherapists, psychotherapy specialists and psychologists all work in the mental health field. Their methods are similar, but their education, professional status and competence differ. As a result, patients may choose a service that does not suit them. Below is a summary of how the professions differ and how to check whether a specialist may practise.

Why confusion arises

At the end of last year, a report by mental health experts on the rules for services provided by psychologists, psychotherapists and psychotherapy specialists was published in a project led by the Ministry of Health. It concluded that the current regulation can confuse service users and makes it hard to define the boundary between medical treatment and psychological counselling. The report also mentions cases where services were provided by a person without proper qualifications.

In 2024, Latvia's Ombudsman examined a case in which a complaint concerned a doctor-psychotherapist who claimed to have provided the service of a psychotherapy specialist. The Ombudsman recommended establishing regulation for psychotherapy specialists. The Ombudsman's office stated in its 2025 report that the profession still has no legal regulation, standard, qualification requirements or supervision mechanism.

Three professions

A psychotherapist is a medical doctor. Cabinet of Ministers regulations place the profession among medical specialists, and psychotherapists are entitled to diagnose and treat mental, psychosomatic and behavioural disorders.

A psychotherapy specialist is not a doctor or a medical practitioner. The occupation classifier places the profession in the psychologists' group, and the regulations do not describe its competences separately. A person with a degree in the social sciences or humanities and additional training in psychotherapy can also work in this role. Specialists are certified by the Latvian Psychotherapy Association.

A psychologist works with clients rather than patients, and the work is governed by the Psychologists Law. A psychologist without a certificate may practise only under the supervision of a supervising psychologist. A clinical and health psychologist is a medical support person: they may take part in healthcare but may not provide medical treatment.

Where to check

• Psychotherapists and clinical and health psychologists: the Health Inspectorate register at registri.vi.gov.lv/rap.
• Psychotherapy specialists: the Latvian Psychotherapy Association register at psihoterapija.lv/lpb-specialisti.
• Psychologists: the Psychologists Register of the State Education Information System at viis.gov.lv/registri/psihologi.

Proposals to improve the system

Proposals prepared by the National Mental Health Centre include clearly separating treatment from wellbeing services, clarifying the status and qualification requirements of the psychotherapy professions, and introducing a unified system for assessing treatment outcomes and a common patient referral algorithm.