The process of establishing and regulating the profession of psychotherapy in Croatia

Abstract

This paper focuses on the main events and circumstances of establishing psychotherapy as an autonomous profession and also details the specifics of its regulation in Croatia. As no previous research has been published on the topic, this paper has analysed archival documents together with expert interviews to provide the chronology and give an interpretation of the main events. Psychotherapists with different professional backgrounds, trained in diverse approaches, began the quest for the professionalization of psychotherapy in the late 1990s. The formation of an umbrella psychotherapy association and its development marked the progress towards the Law on Psychotherapy Practice that was enacted in July 2018. The Croatian Law on Psychotherapy Practice is discussed in the context of the development of psychotherapy in Croatia and laws and regulations on psychotherapy in other European countries.