25 October 2026
To the responsible Greek authorities and anyone who is concerned:
I am writing to you as a concerned global citizen who has had the pleasure of directly working with and learning from my Greek mental health counseling colleagues. As someone who trained as a counselor and was able to be independently licensed and work directly with my local community, I know how important it is for mental health counselors to be recognized by their local or federal government. One of the most important ways for governments to support their citizens is to ensure there is the lowest barrier for entry to receiving mental health counseling. Furthermore, by offering licensure and regulation for counselors, you are ensuring a standard of care for all your citizens who seek support and care.
We in the United States understand and value all the ways in which our society is based on the history and wisdom of the Greek society and government. We hope that this is a moment when the United States model of recognizing mental health counselors alongside psychologists can be enacted by the Greek government.
I am writing to ask you to enact the following points of the Hellenic Association for Counselling:
1. Legal recognition of mental health counselors. Explicitly establish counseling as an autonomous, distinct scientific and professional field, and recognize the profession itself—not merely counseling as an activity.
2. Representation in the National Observatory. Guarantee HAC representation on the proposed seven-member board and balanced representation for psychotherapy and mental health counselling.
3. Protection of existing practitioners. Introduce transitional provisions recognizing currently practicing counselors registered with HAC, taking account of their training, supervised practice, personal therapy and ethical commitments. Provide reasonable time to meet any new requirements instead of automatic exclusion.
4. Recognition of training programs. Require consultation with HAC before ministerial decisions establish educational and professional standards and clarify how existing HAC-certified training centers can be recognized.
5. Clear professional boundaries. Define precisely what constitutes unlawful impersonation of a psychologist, ensuring that the legitimate use of the distinct title mental health counsellor is not automatically treated as practicing psychology unlawfully.
6. A clear institutional framework. Resolve uncertainty about the regulation of counselling, the operation of specialist training centers, and the responsibilities of the relevant ministries. HAC has also called for the protection of practitioners and trainees from professional and educational insecurity.
Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Kathryn Grubbs
Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology
Former License Clinical Professional Counselor, State of Illinois, USA
Former Licensed Mental Health Counselor, State of Washington, USA
Treasurer of the Association for the Development of the Person-Centered Approach, USA
Seattle, Washington, USA