Kazakhstan wants to introduce fines for pseudo-psychologists

Tengrinews.kz — Kazakhstan is planning to introduce fines for violating the rules governing the provision of psychological assistance. These amendments are currently being discussed in the Mazhilis as part of the draft law “On Psychological Activity.”

As Mazhilis deputy Irina Smirnova noted, under the draft law, the right to carry out psychological practice will be granted only to specialists included in the state register.

At the same time, she said, a situation may arise in which services are provided by a psychologist who has not been entered into the state register. Deputies asked what liability would apply if harm to a person’s health resulted from such psychological services.

In response, Mazhilis deputy Aina Musralimova explained that current legislation already provides for liability in such cases.

According to her, if the fact of harm to health is established, liability arises in accordance with the Criminal Code. Depending on the severity of the harm, various measures may be applied — from fines and corrective labor to imprisonment, especially if the harm was caused intentionally.

During the discussion of the draft law, the deputies also concluded that there is a need to introduce separate administrative liability for violations of legal requirements in the field of psychological assistance.

“At the moment, we are working on amendments that provide for fines for violating the procedure for providing psychological assistance. The amount of the fines is still under discussion, and we will finalize it by the second reading,” Musralimova added.