Lai Peixia’s consulting services have sparked heated discussions. The 5-point statement of the All-China Federation of Counseling Psychologists | Politics | Sanli News Network SETN.COM

Lai Pei-xia, a veteran artist who was partnered by Hon Hai founder Terry Gou in the presidential election, was questioned for practicing psychotherapy without a license. The Taipei City Health Bureau initially ruled that it did not directly violate the Psychologist Law. The National Federation of Counseling Psychiatrists Associations recently issued a 5-point statement in response.

▲Lai Peixia was questioned about practicing psychotherapy without a license. (Picture/Photography by reporter Yang Shu)

According to the “Lai Peixia/Haohao Speak” website opened by Lai Peixia, Lai Peixia provides one-on-one consultation services. The consultation topics include emotional distress, emotional mental, physical and mental symptoms, etc. The price is NT$23,000 per 80 minutes. In Lai Peixia’s personal introduction, His experience also listed him as a “psychological counselor”, but he was criticized for violating the provisions of the “Psychologists Act” by providing psychological counseling services without a psychologist’s certificate.

According to the statement of the National Association of Counseling Psychologists, the first point is that when people need psychological counseling, they can first go to the medical inquiry system of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (https://ma.mohw.gov.tw/masearch/SearchDOC -101-1.aspx), confirm whether the service provider is a counseling psychologist to ensure their own rights and interests.

Point 2: If you want to work as a psychological counselor, you must complete an internship in a master’s class in a psychology-related department in accordance with the Psychologist Law and the Ministry of Examination and Examination. After graduation, you must obtain a certificate, join a local guild, and apply at an institution approved by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Only with professional registration can we provide psychological consultation and treatment.

Point 3: During the period of practice, counseling psychologists should continue to be supervised by the Psychologist Law and the ethical standards of the counseling profession, provide public psychological consultation and treatment through the professional self-discipline of local associations, and in accordance with the relevant standards for medical personnel of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Point 4: According to Article 42 of the Psychologist Law, those who do not obtain the domestic officially approved consulting psychologist qualifications but perform the consulting psychologist business as specified in Article 14 of the Psychologist Law will be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment and fined.

The National Federation of Counseling Psychologists Associations reminds that the competent authorities adopt substantive determinations for the definition of psychological counseling and psychological consultation, that is, the competent authorities’ determination standard is the actual service content, and does not exempt them from liability by claiming that it is not psychological consultation. Currently, there are relevant Legal precedents are available for inquiry and reference.

Point 5: The National Federation of Counseling Psychologists Associations has long been paying attention to the development of mental health policies, emphasizing the professional ethics and self-discipline of counseling psychologists, and providing the public with professional psychological counseling and treatment. We are pleased to see the public’s attention to mental health issues and will continue to contact government departments to jointly promote high-quality mental health services.