Advertising rules for psychologists in Germany: counselling, coaching and Heilpraktiker für Psychotherapie

Advertising rules for psychologists: no professional law, but clear rules

Psychologist is not a regulated health profession in Germany. There is no chamber, no professional code and no fee schedule that permits or prohibits advertising. Which rules apply therefore depends on what you offer and how you describe it:

Heilkunde is any professional activity aimed at identifying, curing or alleviating illness, suffering or physical injury (§ 1 Abs. 2 Heilpraktikergesetz, Alternative Practitioners Act). Anyone who practises it without a licence commits a criminal offence. For psychologists, the Federal Administrative Court opened the route to a Heilpraktiker licence limited to psychotherapy as early as 1993 (BVerwG, 3 C 34.90). If clinical psychology was examined in your psychology degree, some Gesundheitsämter (local health authorities) grant it in a simplified procedure based on your records; ask your Gesundheitsamt.

Counselling or Heilkunde: your choice of words decides

Whether your website advertises counselling or Heilkunde is decided by the words. “Coaching during career changes” is counselling. “Help with depression” promises to alleviate an illness, and then the Heilpraktikergesetz and the HWG apply.

• Counselling and coaching: stress management, career reorientation, communication in teams, conflicts in relationships, making decisions, exam preparation.
• Heilkunde, only with a licence: depression, anxiety and panic disorders, consequences of trauma, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, addiction.
• Borderline cases: burnout, sleep problems or exhaustion. As soon as you promise to relieve symptoms, your text advertises the treatment of suffering. Without a licence, stick to prevention and self-management and refer people to doctors if illness is suspected.

Titles: what you may and may not use

Mistakes in titles are the most common reason for cease-and-desist letters against psychology practices. These rules apply to you:

• “Psychologin” or “Psychologe” (psychologist) is not a title protected by law. But anyone who uses it without a completed degree in psychology misleads people about their qualifications (§ 5 UWG), and courts generally see it that way. The BDP requires a bachelor’s and master’s degree with at least 240 ECTS or a Diplom with psychology as the main subject. With a bachelor’s degree alone, it is safer to write “B. Sc. Psychologie”.
• Academic degrees such as “Dipl.-Psych.” or “M. Sc. Psychologie” may only be used if you have earned them. Unauthorised use is a criminal offence (§ 132a StGB).
• “Psychotherapeutin” or “Psychotherapeut” may not be used without an Approbation, not even with a Heilpraktiker licence (§ 1 Abs. 1 PsychThG). The same applies to “Psychologische Psychotherapeutin”; unauthorised use is a criminal offence under § 132a StGB.
• With a Heilpraktiker licence, use the title from your licence certificate, such as “Heilpraktikerin (Psychotherapie)” or “Heilpraktiker, beschränkt auf das Gebiet der Psychotherapie” (limited to the field of psychotherapy). The Landgericht Wuppertal did not object to the short form “Heilpraktiker:in für Psychotherapie” (12 O 126/15); on appeal, the OLG Düsseldorf considered it open to misunderstanding, but covered by the licence.
• Practice name: Courts have objected to “Praxis für Psychotherapie und Traumatherapie” without a clear reference to the Heilpraktikergesetz as misleading (LG Oldenburg, 15 O 1295/08; OLG Oldenburg, 1 U 120/08). The addition “Psychotherapie (HeilprG)” is common. We are not aware of a ruling by the highest court on this; it is safer to show the full professional title from your licence next to it in the same size.

Made-up titles such as “burnout expert” or “Fachpsychologe für Resilienz” (specialist psychologist for resilience) look like a qualification that does not exist. Write “Focus: stress and exhaustion at work” instead and name the further training behind it.

Heilmittelwerbegesetz: as soon as illness or suffering is involved

The HWG does not only apply to medicines. It also covers advertising for procedures and treatments as soon as the statement relates to identifying, eliminating or alleviating illness, suffering or pathological complaints (§ 1 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 HWG). This affects Heilpraktiker:innen as well as coaches whose texts address suffering. These rules matter most:

• § 3 – Misleading advertising: it is prohibited to attribute effects to a procedure that it does not have, or to create the impression that success is certain. “Free of anxiety in eight sessions” is therefore ruled out.
• § 9 – Remote treatment: Advertising the treatment of illness without your own in-person perception of the patient is prohibited in principle. The exception for video treatment is tied to standards for “medical contact”; whether it applies to Heilpraktiker:innen has not been clarified.
• § 11 Abs. 1 Nr. 3 – Case histories: Case histories are prohibited if they are abusive, repulsive or misleading, or could lead to a false self-diagnosis.
• § 11 Abs. 1 Nr. 11 – Statements by third parties: Letters of thanks and recommendation are prohibited towards lay people if they are used in an abusive, repulsive or misleading way.
• § 11 Abs. 1 Nr. 12 – Children: Advertising aimed exclusively or mainly at children under 14 is not allowed. Address the parents.
• § 12 Abs. 2 – Addiction: Advertising outside professional circles may not refer to the treatment of addictions (except nicotine dependence).

UWG and prices: honest, complete, no pressure

Competition law applies to all your services, including coaching with no connection to illness at all. Competitors and associations can send cease-and-desist letters for violations.

• Misleading advertising (§ 5 UWG): “Psychologin” without a degree, “institute” for a solo practice, “certified” without a certificate or “health insurance pays” when that is not true for everyone.
• Prices: Towards private customers, you state total prices (§ 3 Preisangabenverordnung). Coaching is usually subject to VAT, treatments by Heilpraktiker:innen usually are not; clarify this with your tax adviser before publishing prices.
• Cost coverage: Statutory health insurers pay neither for coaching nor for treatment under the Heilpraktikergesetz. Whether private or supplementary insurance reimburses anything depends on the policy. Don’t promise anything.
• Harassment (§ 7 UWG): no promotional emails or calls without prior consent.
• Labelling (§ 5a Abs. 4 UWG): Paid collaborations and affiliate links on social media must be recognisable as advertising.

Testimonials and reviews

Whether you may show testimonials again depends on what you offer. For coaching of companies or individuals, genuine, approved testimonials are allowed as long as they are not misleading. For treatment, the HWG only prohibits abusive or misleading statements by third parties. Even so, professional secrecy and the relationship of dependency speak clearly against them: as a psychologist with a university degree, you are bound by professional secrecy backed by criminal law (§ 203 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 StGB), and every testimonial reveals that someone was in treatment with you.

• Don’t buy, don’t fake: Bought or invented reviews are always prohibited under the UWG.
• Disclose authenticity: If you show reviews on your own website, you must say whether and how you check that they come from real customers (§ 5b Abs. 3 UWG).
• Reply without details: In a reply on Google, never confirm that someone was your client, not even in response to unfair criticism.
• Treatment stays discreet: For treatment services, star widgets and quotes don’t belong on your website. How to maintain your profile well anyway is covered in the post on the Google profile.

BDP member? The Berufsethische Richtlinien

No professional code is legally binding for you. But if you are a member of the Berufsverband Deutscher Psychologinnen und Psychologen (BDP, Professional Association of German Psychologists) or the DGPs, you have committed to their Berufsethische Richtlinien, which are also the BDP’s professional code. The association’s court of honour can sanction violations. For your advertising, this means:

• You inform objectively and in relation to your profession, without statements that promise success or are misleading, and you don’t advertise with treatment successes.
• Your website and brochures may not contain success or turnover figures contrary to what is customary in the industry.
• You only name areas of focus and target groups if you have at least two years of experience in them.
• With consent, you may refer to clients who commissioned you and to assignments, but not to patients, certificates or expert reports.
• For treatment services, you don’t approach potential patients directly, and you make sure that third parties don’t advertise for you in a way that would be forbidden to you.

Social media, online services and collaborations

• Psychoeducation on Instagram, LinkedIn or a blog is allowed and effective if it is professionally sound. The BDP guidelines require you to limit yourself to objective information and not to promote your own practice.
• No self-tests that look like a diagnosis: “Do I have ADHD? Take the test” invites false self-diagnosis and puts you close to Heilkunde.
• Online counselling and coaching by video are unproblematic. Only advertise treatment under the Heilpraktikergesetz by video as a supplement after an initial in-person contact, not as pure remote treatment (§ 9 HWG).
• No counselling by direct message: Refer to a first session and, for acute crises, give the emergency number 112 and the Telefonseelsorge (crisis helpline) 0800 111 0 111.
• Collaborations: Label paid posts, discount codes or affiliate links as advertising. Only recommend products to clients that you don’t earn from.

Quick check for your texts

Which details belong in the Impressum (legal notice) is covered in the mandatory information for psychologists. If you are just starting out: the guide to opening your own psychology practice takes you from setting up to your first client. Check how your listing looks in search results with the Google preview.