Mental Health Licensing & Regulation in Indonesia: 2025 Guide

If you are choosing a psychologist in Indonesia, for yourself or for someone in your family, there are two documents to ask about: a Surat Tanda Registrasi (STR), the registration, and a Surat Izin Layanan Psikologi (SILP), the practice licence. The profession has its own Act, and it requires every psychologist who provides psychological services to hold a SILP. This guide explains what they are and how to ask about them.

How psychologists are regulated in Indonesia, in short

The governing statute is Undang-Undang Nomor 23 Tahun 2022, the law on psychology education and psychological services. Both of the documents below come from it.

The Act defines a Psikolog, a psychologist, as someone who has completed a pendidikan profesi Psikologi, a professional psychology education programme, in Indonesia or abroad, recognised by the Pemerintah Pusat (central government).² Training completed overseas is not disqualifying, but it does have to be recognised.

The Act defines psychological services broadly. Layanan Psikologi covers any psychological service or practice that calls for a psychologist's competence, spanning work that is "promotif, preventif, kuratif, rehabilitatif, dan/atau paliatif": promoting wellbeing, preventing problems, treating, rehabilitating, or palliative care. It is aimed at pengembangan potensi diri, developing a person's own potential, and at peningkatan kesejahteraan psikologis, improving psychological wellbeing.²

The two documents to ask about

Indonesian law separates being registered from being licensed to practise, and a practising psychologist needs both.

Registration depends on a third document, the Sertifikat Profesi. That certificate recognises that a person has met the required competence in psychology, and it is awarded to graduates of the professional education programme. Registrasi, in the Act's terms, is the pencatatan resmi, the official recording, of a Psikolog who already holds that Sertifikat Profesi.²

The first is registration. Setiap lulusan pendidikan profesi, every graduate of the professional programme, receives a Surat Tanda Registrasi or STR, the written proof that a Psikolog has been registered. The Act provides that the STR is issued by the induk organisasi profesi, the parent professional organisation for psychology, covering the program profesi as well as program spesialis and subspesialis. The Act adds that the STR berlaku seumur hidup, is valid for life, and stops applying only if the psychologist dies, or it is revoked by a final court decision or at their own request.³

The second is the practice licence itself. A Surat Izin Layanan Psikologi, or SILP, is the written grant of authority allowing a psychologist to provide psychological services.² The Act states that setiap Psikolog who delivers Layanan Psikologi wajib memiliki SILP, must hold a SILP, and that the SILP is issued by the Pemerintah Pusat.³

The Act recognises three kinds of psychologist: Psikolog umum (general), Psikolog spesialis (specialist) and Psikolog subspesialis (subspecialist). A first SILP after the program profesi runs 2 (dua) tahun, two years, and may be extended, while one after a program spesialis or program subspesialis runs 5 (lima) tahun, and that licence may also be extended.³

What happens if someone practises without one

The Act sets out what happens when a psychologist practises without a SILP. Under Pasal 25, a psychologist who provides psychological services not matching the type recorded on their STR and SILP, or who holds no SILP at all, is subject to "sanksi administratif", administrative sanctions.⁴

Those sanctions are specific. They run to a denda administratif (administrative fine), pencabutan SILP (revocation of the licence), and pencabutan STR.⁵ In other words the licence can be taken away, and so can the underlying registration, even though the STR otherwise runs for life.

A credential that can be withdrawn for practising outside its scope is worth asking to see.

The professional directory, and what it does and does not prove

The Indonesian psychological association, HIMPSI, runs a public directory called Cari Psikolog. It names the same two documents the law does: a psychologist holding an "STR HIMPSI & SILP dari Kemdiktisaintek".¹

HIMPSI names Kemdiktisaintek as the issuer of the SILP. The Act itself says the SILP is issued by the Pemerintah Pusat, which it defines as the President of the Republic of Indonesia, assisted by the Vice President and the ministers. These are not competing answers. The Act's Pemerintah Pusat is defined to include the ministers, so the body HIMPSI names sits inside the central government the Act points to.

The search starts geographically. You choose a "Provinsi" first, then narrow by "Kabupaten/Kota". There are separate searches alongside it, including "Cari Psikolog Fasyankes" for psychologists in health facilities and "Cari Anggota HIMPSI" for association members.¹

Fasyankes is short for fasilitas pelayanan kesehatan, health service facilities. Under Pasal 24 of the Act, registration and practice licensing for psychologists who provide psychological services in a health facility follow the health-sector legislation.⁶

Read the small print on where the data comes from

HIMPSI says the directory data is carried over from synchronisation with the higher-education database, the "Pangkalan Data Pendidikan Tinggi (PDDikti)", and that it is based on professional graduation data from universities.¹

That matters for how much weight to put on it. HIMPSI does not say the listing is checked against current licences; it describes the data as professional graduation records carried over from PDDikti. So finding someone there is good evidence they completed the professional degree. It is not the same as confirming the SILP is current, so it is still worth asking to see both documents.

If something goes wrong

The Act names no public complaints portal. Its enforcement is administrative: providing services outside the type recorded on the STR and SILP, or without a SILP, carries the sanctions above, up to revocation of the licence and the registration itself.⁴⁵ If you want to raise a concern, put it first to the facility or practice where you were seen, and ask HIMPSI whether its ethics process covers the practitioner as a member. Where conduct may be criminal, the police are the right door, and suspected financial fraud can go to the consumer-protection route.

Some things should prompt you to pause, whatever the paperwork says. Be wary if a practitioner suggests stopping prescribed psychiatric medication without involving the doctor who prescribed it, if they claim to cure a serious mental illness by an unproven method, or if they guarantee a particular outcome. The same goes for anything that makes you feel unsafe in the room: you are entitled to end services at any point, and to take your concern to any of the doors above.

What to ask

Ask whether the psychologist holds an STR and a current SILP, and note that the type of service recorded on those documents is supposed to match the help being sought. The STR is the one without an expiry date; the SILP is the one to check the date on.

One qualification matters during the Act's transition period. Under Pasal 51, a psychologist who already held a surat izin praktik, a practice licence issued before the Act came into force, may carry on providing Layanan Psikologi in line with that existing authority for up to 5 (lima) tahun, five years, from the date the Act's implementing regulations are promulgated. An established psychologist practising on a pre-Act licence and holding no SILP is not, for that reason alone, practising outside the law.

What you are entitled to before treatment begins

Under Pasal 27, consent to psychological services is given by the client, orally or in writing, and it is given after the client has received information about the benefits and/or risks of the psychological examination and treatment.⁷

Quick reference

Ask for both. A psychologist practising properly in Indonesia should be able to point to a registration and a current licence.

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References

1. [1] Himpunan Psikologi Indonesia (HIMPSI), "Cari Psikolog" — the association directory. Offers Cari Psikolog, Cari Psikolog Fasyankes, Cari Anggota HIMPSI and Cari Associate. Frames the search as consulting a psychologist holding an STR from HIMPSI and a SILP from Kemdiktisaintek. Search begins by choosing a PROVINSI and is then narrowed by kabupaten/kota. States that the data is carried over from synchronisation with the Pangkalan Data Pendidikan Tinggi (PDDikti) based on professional graduation data from universities. himpsi.or.id/cari-psikolog.
2. [2] Undang-Undang No. 23 Tahun 2022 tentang Pendidikan dan Layanan Psikologi (Indonesia) - Pasal 1: definitions of Layanan Psikologi (psychological services), Sertifikat Profesi (professional certificate), Registrasi, Surat Tanda Registrasi (STR) and Surat Izin Layanan Psikologi (SILP), and of Psikolog as a person who has completed a psychology professional education programme recognised by the central government. peraturan.bpk.go.id.
3. [3] Undang-Undang No. 23 Tahun 2022 (Indonesia) - Chapter IV on Registration and Licensing: Pasal 15 (every graduate of the professional programme receives an STR, issued by the parent psychology professional organisation) and Pasal 17 (every psychologist providing psychological services must hold a SILP, issued by the central government, valid two years for the profession programme and five years for specialist or subspecialist programmes, and renewable); Pasal 15(6) and Pasal 16 (the STR is valid for life and ceases only on death, revocation by a final court decision, or revocation at the holder's own request). peraturan.bpk.go.id.
4. [4] Undang-Undang No. 23 Tahun 2022 (Indonesia) - Pasal 25(1): a psychologist who provides psychological services not matching the type of psychological service recorded on their STR and SILP, or who does not hold a SILP, is subject to administrative sanctions. peraturan.bpk.go.id.
5. [5] Undang-Undang No. 23 Tahun 2022 (Indonesia) - the administrative sanctions themselves: an administrative fine, revocation of the SILP, and/or revocation of the STR, with the procedure to be set by government regulation. peraturan.bpk.go.id.
6. [6] Undang-Undang No. 23 Tahun 2022 (Indonesia) - Pasal 24: "Ketentuan mengenai registrasi dan izin praktik bagi Psikolog yang memberikan Layanan Psikologi di fasilitas pelayanan kesehatan dilaksanakan sesuai dengan ketentuan peraturan perundang-undangan bidang kesehatan." peraturan.bpk.go.id.
7. [7] Undang-Undang No. 23 Tahun 2022 (Indonesia) - Pasal 27: consent to psychological services is given by the client orally or in writing, and is given after the client has received information about the benefits and/or risks of the psychological examination and treatment. peraturan.bpk.go.id.