Mental Health Licensing & Regulation in Greece: 2026 Guide

The profession of psychologist in Greece is regulated, and practising it means notifying the state. It matters if you are seeking a psychologist there, for yourself or for someone in your family. This guide sets out the law behind that, who handles it, and what a psychologist has to satisfy. It covers psychologists; the procedure described here does not cover psychotherapists or counsellors.

How psychologists are regulated in Greece, in short

Law 991 of 1979, published in the Government Gazette, governs the exercise of the profession of psychologist in Greece.¹ The EUGO portal lists it among the procedure's legal references alongside Law 2646 of 1998 on the development of the National Social Care System.

The body responsible is the Ministry of Health. In practice the Public Health Directorates of the Regional Units do this work, and applications can also be handled through the Points of Single Contact³ (ΚΕΠ).

The procedure itself is a notification of practising the profession of psychologist, addressed to natural persons³ rather than to companies. So it attaches to the individual practitioner, which is what makes it useful to you as a check.

What a psychologist must satisfy

The central condition is academic. A psychologist must be a graduate of a psychology department, either from a higher education institution in Greece or from an equivalent institution abroad.⁴

Qualifications earned outside Greece are accepted, but an extra step applies to them. A qualification obtained abroad has to be backed by an academic equivalence from DOATAP, the Greek recognition authority, or by an equivalent and corresponding degree.⁴

A further step applies to professionals who qualified elsewhere in the European Union. A national of an EU Member State who obtained their professional qualifications in another Member State, whether self-employed or salaried, must also submit a recognition decision. That decision comes from ATEEN, the Independent Department for the Implementation of European Legislation, and covers professional equivalence or professional qualifications.⁴

The conditions are not only academic. The applicant must not have been irrevocably convicted of a felony, theft, embezzlement, fraud, extortion, forgery, counterfeiting, violation of the Narcotics Act, murder, infanticide, abduction, sexual offences, financial exploitation of sexual life, or profiteering.⁴

What the process looks like

The stated cost runs from 8 to 22.67 euro.³

The stated deadline for implementation is three months.³ The portal also carries a section of its own headed "What you will need", and the conditions require a DOATAP equivalence or an ATEEN decision to be submitted where the qualification was obtained abroad.

The portal lists the fee for this procedure as an authorisation to pursue the occupation of health professional. It is 8.00 euro, with a further regional fee of 14.67 euro in the Cyclades.³

How to check a practitioner

Start with the notification, because that is the state step. Two questions are worth asking directly:

• Has the psychologist completed the notification of practising the profession with the Public Health Directorate of their Regional Unit?
• If they trained abroad, did DOATAP or ATEEN recognise the qualification?

The Ministry of Health procedure published on EUGO, the Greek Point of Single Contact, describes a notification made to a regional directorate and does not point to a public register. Asking the practitioner directly is the practical check available to you.

The Association of Greek Psychologists, in Greek the Σύλλογος Ελλήνων Ψυχολόγων, runs a public member search called Αναζητώ Ψυχολόγο, which can be filtered by region or alphabetically.²

Be clear about what that directory does and does not prove. It shows association membership, not the state notification. Membership is a useful signal alongside the notification, not a substitute for it.

What should make you pause

In a first conversation, the first matter is qualifications. A foreign qualification that has not been backed by an academic equivalence from DOATAP, an equivalent and corresponding degree, or an ATEEN recognition decision does not meet the conditions the procedure sets out. If a practitioner cannot say where their psychology degree is from, that is a reason to ask again rather than a finding of non-compliance.

The second matter is clinical, not legal. Be wary of anyone who promises a particular outcome or guarantees results, because responsible practice does not work that way, whatever the notification and the recognition decisions show.

Quick reference

A psychologist practising properly in Greece has completed the notification with the Public Health Directorate of their Regional Unit or through a Point of Single Contact, and any foreign qualification behind it has been formally recognised.

If you are looking for a practitioner rather than the regulations, our directory of therapists in Greece lets you filter by language and fee.

Team TherapyRoute

References

1. [1] EUGO (Greek Point of Single Contact) - the legal basis: Law 991/1979 (Government Gazette Series A No 278) on exercising the profession of Psychologist in Greece,. eugo.gov.gr/en/services/102804.
2. [2] Association of Greek Psychologists / Σύλλογος Ελλήνων Ψυχολόγων (SEPS), "Αναζητώ Ψυχολόγο" member directory — a public search of SEPS members filterable by region (Βάση Περιοχής) and alphabetically (Αλφαβητικά), with a member search (Αναζήτηση Μέλους). SEPS is. seps.gr/directory.
3. [3] EUGO, the Greek Point of Single Contact operated under the EU Services Directive (Ministry of Health) - notification of practising the profession of psychologist: the institutional body, the procedure and where it is handled, the cost range and the implementation deadline. eugo.gov.gr/en/services/102804.
4. [4] EUGO (Greek Point of Single Contact, Ministry of Health) - the conditions for practising as a psychologist in Greece: a psychology degree from a higher education institution in Greece or an equivalent institution abroad, academic equivalence from DOATAP for foreign qualifications, and a professional-recognition decision from ATEEN for EU-qualified applicants. eugo.gov.gr/en/services/102804.