The title and how it is regulated
Kenya protects the titles of counsellor and psychologist under the Counsellors and Psychologists Act, enforced by a board operational since August 2022; practising without a licence is an offence. Doctors are registered with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council. “Sex therapist” is not a distinct licensed title: a legitimate practitioner holds a counselling or psychology licence, or a medical registration, and has added sexology training, usually abroad.
Sexual-health care in the public system runs through county hospitals — psychiatry, urology and gynaecology clinics — and through the national referral hospitals in Nairobi, Eldoret and Mombasa. Non-governmental clinics such as those of the family-planning and HIV organisations offer counselling at low cost. Private psychologists and counsellors with sex-therapy training are concentrated in Nairobi and Mombasa.
Since October 2024 the Social Health Authority has replaced the old hospital insurance fund and includes mental-health services in its benefit package, but only in public and empanelled facilities; a session with a private therapist outside the panel is not paid. A private consultation or therapy session costs roughly 2,000 to 6,000 shillings in Nairobi. Employer medical schemes sometimes include a counselling benefit.
Adverts for “sexologists” and herbalists promising cures are widespread; none of them is licensed, and erectile-dysfunction drugs sold without prescription are frequently counterfeit.
Key points
| Title | “Counsellor” and “psychologist” protected (Counsellors and Psychologists Act); “sex therapist” not |
|---|---|
| Regulators | Counsellors and Psychologists Board; Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council |
| Who is trained | Licensed counsellors and psychologists, psychiatrists, urologists, gynaecologists with sexology training |
| Social Health Authority | Mental-health services in public and empanelled facilities since October 2024; private therapists outside the panel not covered |
| Public hospitals | County and national referral hospitals: psychiatry, urology, gynaecology |
| Private cost | About 2,000–6,000 shillings a session in Nairobi |
In practice
- Check the practitioner's licence on the Counsellors and Psychologists Board register or the medical council's.
- Ask whether the facility is empanelled with the Social Health Authority if you intend to use it.
- Use county hospital clinics for medical evaluation; referral to national hospitals is possible.
- Ask your employer's medical scheme about counselling benefits.
Cost and reimbursement
Public and empanelled facilities: covered by the Social Health Authority within its rules. Private therapist: 2,000–6,000 shillings a session, out of pocket unless an employer scheme applies.
What has changed recently
The board's licensing has given patients a register to check since 2022, and the Social Health Authority's package, launched in October 2024, formally includes mental health — with teething problems in enrolment and payments widely reported.
Where to go
- Counsellors and Psychologists Board: register of licensed counsellors and psychologists.
- Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council: register of doctors.
- County hospitals and national referral hospitals: psychiatry, urology and gynaecology clinics.
- Kenya Counselling and Psychological Association.
Worth knowing
A licence from the board is now the minimum; a “sex therapist” without one is practising illegally. Herbal clinics and street adverts are not health care.
Frequently asked questions
Is sex therapy a licensed profession in Kenya?
Not by itself. Counsellors and psychologists must be licensed by the board; sex therapy is practised within those licences or by doctors.
Does the Social Health Authority cover therapy?
Mental-health services in public and empanelled facilities are covered; a private therapist outside the panel is not.
How do I check a therapist?
On the Counsellors and Psychologists Board register, or the medical council's register for doctors.
Official sources and links
- Counsellors and Psychologists Board — register of licensed counsellors and psychologists
- Social Health Authority — benefit package and empanelled facilities
- eCitizen — official government services portal