Kuwait bans unproven therapy practices from psychotherapy profession

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait — Kuwait has introduced new regulations banning a list of unproven therapy and counseling practices from being offered or promoted as treatments under the psychotherapy and psychological counseling profession. The restrictions were issued under Cabinet Decision No. 2026/225. The banned practices include reiki, crystal and stone therapy, chakra and aura activation, cosmic healing, horoscopes, the law of attraction, handwriting analysis, body language analysis, neuro-linguistic programming, positive affirmations, timeline therapy, emotional freedom techniques, and certain meditation, breathwork and sound-frequency methods. Officials said the measures target content circulated on social media under headings such as energy therapy, spiritual healing and personality analysis. Health professionals noted that while some of the methods may be used for relaxation or personal development, presenting them as alternatives to evidence-based treatment for psychiatric disorders is problematic. Psychotherapeutic techniques, they said, typically undergo research and evaluation and are selected by qualified practitioners based on patient needs. Following the decision, health circles stressed the need to distinguish social media content promoting unscientific methods as legitimate treatment. No further details on enforcement or implementation timelines were immediately available.