Kuwait has introduced new regulations for psychotherapy practitioners, banning a range of practices that authorities say lack established scientific evidence.
Ministerial Decision No. 225 of 2026 sets new licensing requirements for practitioners in both the public and private sectors. The rules also introduce additional safeguards for patients.
Unscientific Treatments Prohibited
Under the new regulations, practitioners cannot provide or promote treatments without a proven scientific basis.
The prohibited practices include:
- Reiki
- Energy and spiritual healing
- Pranic healing
- Astral projection
- Cosmic healing
- “Star seeds”
- Crystal and stone therapy
- Law-of-attraction treatments
- Chakra and aura practices
- So-called false hypnosis
The rules also ban several other practices when they lack scientific evidence.
Restrictions on Other Pseudo Therapies
The regulations prohibit neurolinguistic programming and other unsupported therapeutic claims.
They also restrict pseudo therapies, color therapy, and sound-vibration treatments without an established scientific basis.
Similarly, practitioners cannot present unsupported relaxation methods or mental guidance as professional psychotherapy.
Life coaching and self-development services can only operate within an approved professional licensing framework.
New Professional Licensing Categories
The decision establishes several professional titles.
These include senior psychotherapist, psychotherapist, and psychologist.
The regulations also create separate licensing categories for applied behavior analysts.
Authorities will require practitioners to meet specific professional and academic standards before receiving a licence.
Qualification and Training Requirements
Applicants must hold recognized academic qualifications in their relevant fields.
Those with foreign degrees must obtain official equivalency for their qualifications.
In addition, applicants must complete in-person academic study and supervised clinical training.
They must also document a required number of face-to-face therapy sessions at licensed healthcare facilities.
Only after meeting these requirements can applicants receive a professional licence under the new framework.
Focus on Patient Protection
The new rules aim to strengthen professional standards in Kuwait’s psychotherapy sector.
By limiting unsupported treatments and tightening licensing requirements, authorities seek to give patients greater protection.
The regulations also establish clearer standards for who can offer professional psychotherapy services.
