Mental Health Licensing & Regulation in France: 2025 Guide

By Team TherapyRoute.

Only some of the job titles used by mental health practitioners in France are reserved by law.

This guide is for English-speaking readers, including expats and families. It shows which French titles carry a real, checkable registration, and which carry none.

For psychologue and psychothérapeute, French law reserves the title rather than the activity. Medicine is different: practising as a doctor requires entry on a roll of the Ordre des médecins. In both cases you can check the practitioner's registration before booking.

The short answer: which titles are protected

Two of the titles on this page are reserved by law and have an official register: psychologue and psychothérapeute. A psychiatre is a médecin, which brings its own registration requirement with the Ordre des médecins. Three common labels carry none of this: psychopraticien, thérapeute and coach.

You can check a protected title against a public list. You cannot check the open labels, because no statute reserves them and no register lists them.

Psychologue: a protected title for assessment and therapy

A psychologue offers psychological assessment and talking therapy. The title is protected in France.

A 1985 law, Loi no 85-772, reserves professional use of the title psychologue¹ (usage professionnel du titre de psychologue) to holders of a high-level university qualification in psychology that appears on a list fixed by decree, or of a foreign diploma recognised as equivalent.

A 1990 decree, Décret no 90-255, lists the qualifying diplomas. One route is a first degree in psychology (licence mention psychologie) with a master's in psychology (master mention psychologie) that includes a professional placement.² Two further routes also qualify. The first is a licence and a maîtrise in psychology, completed by a DESS (diplôme d'études supérieures spécialisées, a specialised higher-studies diploma in psychology), by a DEA (diplôme d'études approfondies, an advanced-studies diploma in psychology) with a professional placement, or by one of the diplomas listed in the decree's annex. The second is that same licence with a master mention psychologie including a placement.

A psychologue is not a medical doctor and cannot prescribe medicine.

The regional health agency (agence régionale de santé), or the body designated for that purpose, draws up a list of the profession for each département and makes it public.¹

Psychothérapeute: a protected title on a national register

The second protected title is psychothérapeute.

A 2004 law, Loi no 2004-806, reserves the title psychothérapeute to professionals entered on the national register of psychotherapists³ (registre national des psychothérapeutes). The director general of the regional health agency records the entry on a list, which is kept up to date, made available to the public and published regularly.

A 2010 decree, Décret no 2010-534, sets the training. Entry on the national register requires at least 400 hours of training in clinical psychopathology (psychopathologie clinique) and a practical placement of at least five months.⁴

Access to that training is limited to holders of a doctorate that entitles them to practise medicine in France, or of a master's whose speciality or mention is psychology or psychoanalysis.³ Some professionals are exempt, wholly or in part, from both the training and the placement, under conditions set in the decree's annex. The register itself lists the training each registered professional completed, so you can see what any one person did.

A psychothérapeute who is not also a doctor cannot prescribe medicine.

Psychiatre: the doctor who can prescribe

A psychiatre is a medical doctor who specialises in mental health.

Under article L4111-1 of the public health code, no one may practise as a doctor unless they are entered on a roll (tableau) of the Ordre des médecins,⁵ the doctors' regulatory body, subject to the exceptions in articles L. 4112-6 and L. 4112-7.

Article L4131-1 of the public health code sets the qualifying titles for the profession of médecin: the French state diploma of docteur en médecine,⁶ or, for a national of an EU or EEA state, a medical training title issued by one of those states and listed by an order of the ministers for higher education and health.

Medication for a mental health condition is prescribed by a registered medical doctor, such as a psychiatre or a GP.

The open labels: psychopraticien, thérapeute and coach

Psychopraticien, thérapeute and coach look similar to the protected titles but carry no protection.

No statute reserves these words, so there is no register on which to check anyone who uses them, and the label on its own is not evidence of training.

If a practitioner uses one of these labels, ask what training they completed and whether they also hold a protected title you can check on a register.

How to check a provider is really registered

Match each title to the register that covers it.

• Psychologue: look for the person on the public list for the département, drawn up by the regional health agency.
• Psychothérapeute: look for the person on the list drawn up by the director general of the regional health agency for the region of their professional residence. A fresh entry is required if they move region, or if they resume use of the title after two years' interruption.
• Psychiatre: a psychiatre must be a registered médecin, so check that the doctor is entered on a roll (tableau) of the Ordre des médecins.

You may see the psychologue and psychothérapeute registers called ADELI. The Agence du Numérique en Santé records that psychologues were moved from ADELI into the RPPS on 3 June 2024,⁷ and that psychothérapeutes were moved in the final switch on 11 October 2024. After those switches the ADELI number is obsolete and is no longer issued to professionals. Since the switch, professionals are identified by their RPPS number across the Annuaire Santé publication services at annuaire.sante.fr, and a professional can no longer be searched for there by ADELI number. The law requires a public list of the profession for each département, drawn up by the regional health agency. Ask that agency, for the département where the practitioner works, which list is current.

If you cannot find a psychologue or a psychothérapeute on the list you expect, ask the regional health agency that draws that list up.

The same agency is where a concern about a psychologue or a psychothérapeute goes. A complaint is made in writing to the agence régionale de santé for the département, which holds and maintains that list.

A psychiatre is a doctor, so a concern about one goes instead to the Ordre des médecins, which holds the roll they are entered on.

Trained abroad: using a protected title in France

To use a protected title in France you must meet the French qualification and registration rules, whether you trained here or abroad.

A foreign diploma recognised as equivalent to the required French qualification also entitles the holder to use the title psychologue professionally.¹ Everyone entitled to use the title must register their diploma, free of charge, with the regional health agency or the body designated for that purpose, and must tell that office if their professional situation changes.

For médecin, the qualifying titles and the requirement to be entered on a roll of the Ordre des médecins are set out under psychiatre above. Article L4111-1 sets one further condition for practising as a médecin: French nationality, Andorran citizenship, or nationality of an EU or EEA member state, the United Kingdom, Morocco or Tunisia. Holders of the French state diploma of docteur en médecine are exempt from that condition.

Finding an accountable practitioner

This guide does not cover fees or reimbursement.

Ask the practitioner directly what they charge and what, if anything, is reimbursed.

Confirm the current arrangements before you book.

To find someone, browse our directory of therapists in France, which lets you filter by language and by fee. Then check the registration of anyone you shortlist against the lists above, and ask whether they consult in English. For help choosing between the practitioners you shortlist, see our guide on how to find the right therapist.

Quick answers

Can a psychologue prescribe medicine?

No. Only a registered doctor, such as a psychiatre, can prescribe.

Is a psychopraticien qualified?

The label is not protected, so on its own it is not evidence of training. Look for a protected, registered title instead.

Is ADELI still how I check a psychologist?

No. Psychologues were moved from ADELI into the RPPS on 3 June 2024 and psychothérapeutes on 11 October 2024; check the public list for the département, drawn up by the regional health agency.

What does the psychothérapeute register show?

The list names the training each registered professional completed.

This guide is general information, not personal or legal advice. Registration systems and public health rules in France can change. Always confirm a provider's current status on the official register. Speak to a qualified professional about your own situation.

References

1. [1] Loi no 85-772 du 25 juillet 1985 portant diverses dispositions d'ordre social, art. 44, I (Légifrance, version en vigueur depuis le 24 décembre 2016, modifié par Ordonnance no 2016-1809 du 22 décembre 2016) legifrance.gouv.fr.
2. [2] Décret no 90-255 du 22 mars 1990 fixant la liste des diplômes permettant de faire usage professionnel du titre de psychologue, art. 1 (Légifrance, version en vigueur depuis le 10 février 2005, modifié par Décret no 2005-97 du 3 février 2005) legifrance.gouv.fr.
3. [3] Loi no 2004-806 du 9 août 2004 relative à la politique de santé publique, art. 52 (Légifrance, version en vigueur depuis le 28 janvier 2016, modifié par Loi no 2016-41 du 26 janvier 2016) legifrance.gouv.fr.
4. [4] Décret no 2010-534 du 20 mai 2010 relatif à l'usage du titre de psychothérapeute, art. 1 et 2 (Légifrance, version en vigueur depuis le 1er juillet 2010; texte modifié par Décret no 2012-695 du 7 mai 2012) legifrance.gouv.fr.
5. [5] Code de la santé publique, art. L4111-1 (Légifrance, version en vigueur depuis le 17 mai 2026, modifié par Loi no 2026-373 du 15 mai 2026) legifrance.gouv.fr.
6. [6] Code de la santé publique, art. L4131-1 (Légifrance, version en vigueur depuis le 17 mai 2026, modifié par Loi no 2026-373 du 15 mai 2026) legifrance.gouv.fr.
7. [7] Agence du Numérique en Santé — Bascule des professionnels ADELI dans le RPPS esante.gouv.fr.