Therapy practice latest rules: promotion, titles and public-sector changes in Turkey
The therapy practice latest rules in Turkey come down to three headlines. The Regulation on Promotion and Information Activities in Health Services, which governs promotion, has been in force since 12 November 2025 and covers the professionals defined in additional article 13 of Law No. 1219. On the public side, according to a November 2025 platform statement, the Ministry of Health opened posts in its KPSS-2025/5 guide under the title “clinical psychologist” instead of “psychologist”. The debate over titles is still on professional bodies’ agenda.
As of October 2026, the sources we could reach show no new amendment to the 2025 regulation. For a new practice this means: no promotion built on fees, discounts or client thanks, the title written exactly as on the certificate, and visibility built on informational content. Check the regulation and your professional body before each step.
What happened: which rule governs a therapy practice?
A therapy practice’s promotion is governed by the regulation published in Official Gazette No. 33075 on 12 November 2025. It took effect the same day and replaces the 2023 regulation. Its scope covers health professionals, private health organisations and health tourism intermediaries. The definition of health professional also includes the professionals listed in additional article 13 of Law No. 1219.
The line between advertising and information
The regulation bans advertising and sets rules for promotion and information. Address, contact details, opening hours and titles count as information. Anything that pushes a service forward and creates demand can count as advertising.
Which articles matter most for a therapy practice?
Six provisions come up most often for a therapy practice. Four are bans, two are rules. A new practice should know this list before hanging the sign. Provincial assessment commissions carry out inspections, and under the regulation whoever shares non-compliant content is as responsible as whoever made it. If an agency’s post goes out from your account, the responsibility is yours.
- Fee, discount, campaign and promotion information is banned.
- Promotion through thanks or satisfaction statements from clients or relatives is banned.
- Information by phone, text or email without consent is banned.
- Inducements, draws and gifts are banned.
- Listing on social media and search engines is allowed, if it is not paid, sponsored or aimed at prominence.
- The site must clearly show when information was last updated and how to reach the site editor.
The list of what can be said
We sorted, sentence by sentence, what complies on a sign, profile and site in therapy practice advertising rules.
What changed in public-sector posts?
According to a 15 November 2025 statement by the Platform of Psychologists Working at the Ministry of Health, the KPSS-2025/5 appointment guide has no “psychologist” posts and opens “clinical psychologist” posts instead. The platform says this effectively ties appointment to state hospitals to a master’s degree. The same statement cites about 12,500 psychology graduates a year against about 100 clinical psychology master’s places at state universities.
Bachelor-level psychologists object
The platform says bachelor-level psychologists are classified in practice as “other professionals” rather than “health professionals”, and asks for the professional definition to be set at bachelor’s level. This is a demand, not an official change.
The professional body’s agenda
The Turkish Psychological Association’s statement for Psychologists’ Day on 10 May 2026 highlights professional dignity, labour and job security. The title question is still on the table in 2026.
How does the title debate affect promotion?
The riskiest word in promotion is the title. The psychologist title comes from a psychology bachelor’s degree, clinical psychologist from a clinical psychology master’s, and psychological counsellor from a bachelor’s in psychological counselling and guidance. A parliamentary question submitted in May 2025 recalls that the clinical psychologist definition entered Law No. 1219 in 2011. A wrong title misleads the client and pushes the practice outside the rules.
The certificate title, the same everywhere
Write exactly the same title on the sign, Google profile, site and social media. Three spellings in three places leave the client wondering whether it is even the same person.
A certificate is not a title
The regulation bans using a specialist title based on certificates outside the main and sub-specialty. List the therapy trainings you have taken under a “training” heading, not next to your title.
Why is mental health promotion especially sensitive?
Two things come first in mental health promotion: promises and confidentiality. No “it cures”, “guaranteed solution” or time-bound promise. A client’s identity and process never appear in any post. These rules come not only from the regulation but from professional ethics and data protection law. A new practice’s language should be calm, explanatory and free of stigma.
Health data is special category data
Turkey’s Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 treats health data as special category personal data. Every record, from the booking form to the client list, should be kept with that in mind.
Language without stigma
Words like “crazy”, “problematic” or “weak” stay out of headlines and descriptions. The client is already hesitating at the threshold; the language on screen either invites them in or turns them away.
What it means for you: what should a new practice fix now?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Informational content is the safest ground
- Read the plan and the framework together
- Setting up the base in one go
A new practice should fix three things now. First, the title: identical to the certificate everywhere. Second, the promotional language: no fees, discounts, client thanks or promised outcomes. Third, the base of visibility: informational content that answers the client’s question and carries your approval. Once these three are in place, the till slowly starts ringing.
Informational content is the safest ground
Say someone asks your new Beşiktaş practice, “what is the difference between anxiety and stress?” A page answering that without prices or promises keeps you within the rules and gets you found. We look at how clients’ questions to AI are changing towards 2027 in therapy practices and AI in 2027.
Read the plan and the framework together
The first three months are planned in the first 90 days of a new therapy practice, and the full framework is in the new therapy practice promotion guide.
Setting up the base in one go
To have this base built turnkey, see the AI SEO Campaign: for a fixed TRY 36,000 + VAT, 108 articles across 6 question groups, structured data, llms.txt, Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools setup, delivered in 30 days. 12 businesses are accepted per period, with a 10 percent coupon. No recommendation guarantee is given. With 20 percent VAT that is TRY 43,200; check the current rate on your invoice.
Quick Summary
- The regulation in force was published in Official Gazette No. 33075 on 12 November 2025.
- Its scope includes professionals in additional article 13 of Law No. 1219.
- Fees, discounts, client thanks and draws are banned; unsponsored listing is allowed.
- The first-month sponsored exception is granted to health facilities in the text.
- In KPSS-2025/5, public posts open under the clinical psychologist title.
- A certificate is not a specialist title; write the title as on your certificate.
Short Glossary
Psychological counsellor: Psychological counsellor is the title used for a professional with a bachelor’s degree in psychological counselling and guidance.
Special category personal data: Special category personal data is the data protection term used to set apart more strictly protected data such as health information.
Provincial Assessment Commission: The Provincial Assessment Commission is the board used to review health promotion in a province for compliance with the regulation.
Next Step
You have seen the rules; now it is about being findable within them. Apply for the AI SEO Campaign, share your site and target questions, and we start with a diagnosis card.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sık Sorulan Sorular
We set out the article-by-article differences between the 2023 and 2025 texts in a table in health advertising rules: the latest. The same text binds therapy practices.
The text grants sponsored promotion during the first month after opening to “health facilities”. If your practice is not a licensed health facility, ask the provincial health directorate in writing whether the exception applies to you.
The regulation covers health professionals, and that definition includes the professionals in additional article 13 of Law No. 1219. Check the regulation and your professional body for your own title and practice status.
No. The regulation bans using a specialist title based on certificates outside the main and sub-specialty. Listing certificates as training under a separate heading is the safer route.
No. No recommendation guarantee is given; a readability and recognisability infrastructure is built and measured. The campaign is a fixed TRY 36,000 + VAT, and 108 articles and technical setup are delivered in 30 days. Approve each article yourself before it goes live.
Updated: October 2026