Kuwait’s Ministry of Health has introduced a comprehensive regulatory framework for psychotherapy across the public and private sectors, tightening licensing criteria and banning practices not backed by scientific evidence.
Ministerial Decision No. 225 of 2026 introduces measures to protect patients while establishing strict standards for professional licensing and practice.
Prohibited practices include energy and spiritual therapies, Reiki, pranic healing, false hypnosis, astral projection, cosmic healing, ‘star seeds’, crystals, the law of attraction, body-language analysis, and chakra or aura manipulation.
The ban extends to neurolinguistic programming (NLP), pseudotherapies, unfounded therapeutic claims, and mental-guidance techniques lacking scientific backing.
Psychological yoga, colour therapy, and sound-vibration treatments are also barred.
Life coaching and self-development activities may no longer be practised outside an approved professional licensing framework.
To secure a licence, practitioners must hold academic credentials from recognised institutions, with official equivalency required for degrees obtained outside Kuwait.
Additionally, qualifications must be completed via regular in-person attendance.
Candidates must also complete supervised clinical training and log a specified number of in-person therapy sessions in accredited healthcare facilities.
