Speech and Language Therapy
in Finland

Overall description / Legal basis

Speech therapy is regarded as medical rehabilitation, which – according to the Primary Health Care Act ( 66/1972) and Medical Rehabilitation Decree 1015/1991 – is to be organized by the Communal Health Care Authorities to cover the local needs. Public health care centres and hospitals provide speech therapy to their clients, realized either by their own employed speech therapists or by buying speech therapy services from private practitioners.

Speech therapy for severely handicapped persons is provided – according to the Act (660/1991) and Decree (1161/1991) on Medical Rehabilitation Services – by the Social Insurance Institution. Speech therapy can also be provided according to the Act on Rehabilitation Indemnification on the Basis of Employment Accidents Insurance Act (625/1991) and Act on Rehabilitation Indemnification on the Basis of the Motor Insurance Act (626/1991).

Organisation of SLT in the country

Education / training (BA/MA/PG)

M.A., education in logopedics

Authorisation / license / recognition of diploma

National Authority for Medicolegal Affairs
Health care professionals are prescribed in Act (559/1994) and Decree (564/1994) on Health Care Professionals

Recognition of professional qualifications obtained abroad

Health care professionals such as SLT:s must attach to their application a certificate of compliance of their training with the guidelines of Directives No. 89/48/EEC and 2001/19/EC issued by a registering authority in the country where the training was completed or in any other EU state.
The training received by the applicant is compared to corresponding training in Finland in accordance with the principles of Directives.

The National Authority for Medicolegal Affairs may grant a permission to practise a particular profession or grant the right to use a particular occupational title to health care professionals who have been trained outside EU/EEA states provided that the applicant’s training corresponds with the Finnish training. The main principle is that the training obtained outside EU/EEA states is equivalent directly to present Finnish training.

Status of the profession and the professional + income/salary

• Academic independent health care profession.
• Protected medical profession since 1994 by the Act (559/1994) and Decree
(564/1994) on Health Care Professionals.
• SLT employed by Communal Health Care: minimum salary 2097 €, average
salary 2450 (10 yrs of practice). No updated data about independent SLTs.
• 1100 Authorized SLTs

Professional association

Finnish Association of Speech Therapists

Further information / Useful links

www.puheterapeuttiliitto.fi

www.kehitysvammaliitto.fi

www.invalidiliitto.fi

www.kl-deaf.fi

www.helsinki.fi