As mental health issues increase dramatically along with awareness is also increasing, the demand for mental health professionals, including clinical psychology, also increases, but there is a huge shortage of Clinical Psychologist in India, so those who are studying Psychology or plan to make a career in psychology; a right time to choose psychology for their future. Psychology not only helps aspirant to make their careers but also allows them to help others deal with their problem.
Major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders, along with substance use disorder or personality disorders, constitute the major burden. One in seven Indians is suffering from mental illness, while about 7.3% of the teenagers falling under the age group of 13–17 are facing emotional and behavioural issues in a fast-paced society. More than 1.64 Lakh people died by suicide in 2021 according to NCRB and drastically suicides is one of the significant causes of death among the working aged group of 15-29 years. However, the ideas people have about mental health are still not positive and people delay or avoid getting the help they need. People with mental health issues remain untreated due to a lack of mental health professionals and their scarcity of mental health care services.
Clinical Psychology played an important role in treating Mental Illness for many centuries, but a formal journey of Clinical psychology began in the late nineteenth century when psychological science became very prominent in treating mental health issues systematically and formally.
Clinical psychology is very broad, so some schools of thought provide quite different views or approaches to practice. Psychodynamic approach, which employs ideas proposed by Sigmund Freud; the first fundamental tenet is held that the unconscious mind or past experiences more specifically experiences in childhood dictate behaviour and mental illnesses. The behaviourist approach of learning can be traced from Ivan Pavlov and John B. Watson as well as BF Skinner. It concerns the elimination of unwanted behaviors by using behaviour change systems, which many disorders, including phobia, anxiety disorders, and addiction, require.
The cognitive approach emphasises how thinking determines people’s feelings and actions developed by Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis. Cognitive therapy seeks to modify negative and distorted cognition by changing how a person interprets a situation or thought. When linked with the behavioural Approach in CBT, it forms a robust, evidence-based model that focuses on cognition and behaviour to deal with mental issues.
Humanistic approach focuses on free will and individual potential and their relationship to the environment. The social approach relates mental health issues to social events, while the biological approach tries to understand behaviour and illnesses based on biological things like genes, brain or hormones.
Many therapists are interested in integrative models, where therapy is based on various theories to meet the client’s requirements. When therapists use CBT to treat disorders, they are using a combination of Behavioural and Cognitive perspectives.
Altogether, all these methods describe the variety and prospect of clinical psychology, which provides a set of methods fitting the versatile and complex nature of mental health problems. By creating valuable theoretical and practical knowledge, clinical psychologists deliver efficient individual treatment to enhance clients’ health.
Ways of becoming a Clinical Psychologist in India
To be a Clinical Psychologist, after class XII, a person has to study for 7 years: 3 years graduation + 2 years master’s and then 2 years M.Phil in Clinical Psychology. According to the new regulation, it is now 6 years. As per the new National Education Policy 2020, the Rehabilitation Council of India has set up new courses for highly intensive training.
(The author, Dr. Arvind Otta, is a Senior Psychologist & Mental Health Activist.)
