The amendment restoring psychotherapy to the list of psychologist's services was submitted on Thursday, during the second reading of the government bill in the Sejm, by the Razem group. In the afternoon, the amendment will be considered by the parliamentary committees: health, social policy and family.
The government's draft act on the profession of psychologist and the professional self-government of psychologists defines the rules for obtaining the right to practice the profession and establishes a register of psychologists.
During the second reading in the Sejm, support for the government project was expressed by the KO, PSL, Polska2050, Lewica, Razem and Wolni Republikanie clubs. MP Anna Dąbrowska-Banaszek (PiS) announced that her club will not support the project in its current form.
An amendment that restores psychotherapy to the list of psychologist services in the bill
Razem MP Marcelina Zawisza submitted an amendment that reinstates psychotherapy in the bill to the list of psychologist services. This solution was included in the government bill submitted to the Sejm. However, in December, the joint parliamentary committees: health and social policy and family decided to remove psychotherapy from the list of psychological services.
Zawisza told PAP that providing psychotherapy services is one of the basic professional activities performed by psychologists with appropriate additional training and the original shape of the act rightly included it among them.
Psychologists protest
On Thursday, the psychological community protested in front of the Sejm against the December amendment. The protesters emphasize that they do not demand that a psychologist with a master's degree should conduct psychotherapy, because this requires advanced, specialized education. They also emphasize that It is a strange situation that a clinical psychologist, after five years of studies and an additional four years of specialization ending with a state examination (PES), will have to learn psychotherapy from scratch, together with people e.g. with degrees in political science or archaeology.
On Thursday afternoon, Zawisza's amendments, as well as those submitted by the PiS club, will be considered by the parliamentary health, social policy and family committees.
Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy, emphasized in the Sejm that the priority of the government project is patient safety. She added that the project had been consulted for many months and received over a thousand comments. She emphasized that the project did not block work on the profession of psychotherapist, but it could not omit psychotherapy.
A compromise was reached
Rapporteur Katarzyna Uberhan (Left Wing) noted that a compromise had been reached regarding the project on the profession of psychologist. – We have developed a solution together that combines concern for safety and public interest with the practice and challenges of practicing the profession of psychologist – she added.
She informed that the project had received 20 minority applications submitted by PiS MP Patryk Wichr.
According to Dąbrowska-Banaszek (PiS), the government project is inconsistent and does not meet expectations. She pointed out that More than 6 years of training as a psychologist will not enable him to practice his profession, and she described the cost of entering a psychologist in the register as very high.
MP Marta Golbik (KO) argued that the act was particularly important due to, among others, for needs related to psychological assistance. She asked the MPs to accept it. – We can (…) change it in the future if it turns out that some provisions are insufficient – she said.
According to Radosław Lubczyk (PSL), the Act on the profession of psychologist is fundamental due to public safety. – A person who uses the services of a psychologist will be able to check whether the person whose services he uses is authorized to do so – he said.
MP Norbert Pietrykowski (Polska2050) emphasized that the well-being of the patient, i.e. the recipient of psychological services, should be the most important. – The state must guarantee to its citizens that when they visit a psychologist, they will meet a psychologist, and not a theologian or zoologist after a week-long psychological course – he added.
According to MP Anita Kucharska-Dziedzic (Left Wing), psychologists' clients should be taken care of as best as possible.
– The profession of psychologist will be a profession of public trust not only in name – she said.
Zawisza (Razem) emphasized that regulations regarding the psychologist's profession should enter into force as soon as possible. She appealed to PiS MPs to consider whether it is worth voting against the government project for the sake of patient safety.
Jarosław Sachajko (Free Republicans) also expressed support for the project. However, he stipulated that: The professional self-government of psychologists should be supervised by the Minister of Health, not the Minister of Labor. He drew attention to the high costs of registration for a psychologist, which – as he added – affect young people who want to enter the labor market.
Work on the government bill on the profession of psychologist was carried out in an extraordinary subcommittee, and in December it was considered by the Parliamentary Committee for Social Policy and Family and the Parliamentary Committee for Health. At a meeting in early December, parliamentary committees introduced an amendment to the government bill that removes psychotherapy from the catalog of psychologist services. Pursuant to this amendment, a psychologist will be able to conduct psychotherapy on the terms specified in separate regulations.
The government's draft act on the profession of psychologist is intended to clarify the legal situation, as the Act on the profession of psychologist of 2001 does not function in practice. The psychologists' self-government was never constituted, and the regulations turned out to be ineffective. The project introduces the definition of psychological services developed by the professional circles of psychologists, specifies the rules for obtaining the right to practice the profession and maintaining the Register of Psychologists. It assumes the establishment of a professional self-government for psychologists, supervision of the Minister of Labor over the self-government and the adoption of the Code of Professional Ethics. (PAP)
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