Mental health enjoys increasing attention in Estonian society. Many current problems such as depression and suicidality among young people, domestic and sexual violence, psychosocial stress due to stressful life situations, especially as a result of COVID-19, are of concern to the population (see Kastepõld-Tõrs 2020). These issues are discussed more often in public and more and more people recognize the need for psychological support in everyday life, which in turn leads to a greater demand for psychosocial services, including psychological counselling (cf. ibid.). Nevertheless, there are still not enough specialists in this field. Thus, one of the biggest challenges is the development of educational programs for counsellors (including lifelong education) (cf. ibid.). Furthermore, a suitable qualification system should be implemented and the counselling profession should be introduced in Estonia, so that both employees and employers have certain guidelines to orient themselves by.
Despite the increasing attention to mental health within the Estonian population, there is still a need to increase the reputation of the counselling profession in society (see Kastepõld-Tõrs 2020). It is possible that in the future counsellors will also be allowed to offer their services under the state health insurance system (cf.ibid).