Clinical psychology in Lithuania: Current developments in training and legislation

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of the current status in training and legislation of clinical psychology in Lithuania. Clinical psychology training at the university level in Lithuania started soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s and was influenced by the social context and historical-political situation in the country. Currently, legislation for clinical psychology in Lithuania is in progress, and several promising regulations for psychology in health care were introduced in the last decade. However, psychologists, including clinical psychologists, are not licensed in Lithuania. The lack of legislation for psychology is the main obstacle for the recognition and establishment of clinical psychology in the country. In health care, the title ‘clinical psychologist’ is not common; ‘medical psychologist’ is the title used instead to refer to both clinical psychologists and health psychologists. We conclude that while the development of clinical psychology in Lithuania is promising, there is still a long way to go to establish clinical psychology as an important profession in Lithuania.