The murky, unregulated world of psychological counselling in India

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 06:25:59 +0000

Hello,In many ways, the passage of the Mental Healthcare Act of 2017 was a positive development. The law was aimed at regulating mental healthcare services in the country and contained several provisions to safeguard the rights of those who sought support and treatment.But when it came to the field of counselling, the law contained a flaw – it only acknowledged clinical psychologists, who work in clinical settings, and not others, usually referred to as counselling psychologists. This contributed to a longstanding lack of clarity among the wider public about the qualifications that psychologists should possess.In effect, this lack of clarity has allowed a range of unqualified and poorly trained individuals from offering counselling services. These include a rapidly increasing number of “mental health influencers”, whose tendency to offer quick-fix diagnoses and solutions on social media has left many professionals in the field uneasy.“While reporting this story I was amazed to learn about the range of strange experiences people have had in the name of counselling,” said Nolina Minj, who spoke to qualified psychologists, as well as those who have received counselling from individuals with questionable credentials. “The lack of regulation and information about requisite training for counsellors, amongst the general population, is dangerous.”She added, “If India is to take mental healthcare seriously, then it urgently needs to consolidate regulation, certification and operational protocol for all psychologists.”