
Evolution of Psychotherapy in India
Until recently, mental health issues were considered as a taboo in India. Even depression – the most common mental ailment, which in turn leads to other ailments, was not considered as an ailment in the first place.
The Indian psychotherapy sector has travelled a long, arduous path to establish itself as an important component of human health and the medical field. From labelling psychologically disturbed persons as mad and writing off the possibility of any treatment or therapy to voluntarily seeking psychotherapy, the Indian society too has travelled a long way.
Psychotherapy initially was not recognised as a treatment for psychological or psychiatric problems in India.
By and large people are now recognising and accepting psychological issues and are open to therapy. The past two decades saw an increase in awareness among people about mental health and the need to address them through professional help. A country that believed in a pill as the cure to any ailment gradually began embracing counselling to cure mental health issues. Educational institutions and corporate companies have counsellors for students and employees, respectively. Individuals seek professional help for any small to major mental disturbance. Today, the focus is on overall well-being.
Globalisation has changed the perception of people towards mental illness. People are seeking therapeutic help to deal with their emotional issues. Changing lifestyles and modernisation inflated emotional health issues and counselling seemed to be the only solution to such problems. Marital strain, parent-child relationship, emotional trauma due to a chronic or serious illness or a mishap, childhood trauma, substance abuse, stress of students to perform academically and many such issues lead to depression and consequently the need for counselling. The Covid-19 pandemic saw a surge in the emotional trauma among people. Many turned to counselling.
The profession is very challenging and demands lot of patience. Psychotherapists work with the patient to eliminate symptoms or reduce symptoms of mental illness and work towards the overall wellbeing of the patient. A psychotherapist needs in-depth training to use various intervention techniques and therapy includes several sessions with the patient, wherein the counselling is done.
The Indian psychotherapy sector has come a long way. Yet, a lot needs to be accomplished. Few psychotherapy treatment providers have been successful in changing mindsets through their effective therapies and have changed the way Indians looked at mental health and its cure.
As a toast to their efforts and success, we at Insights Success have featured them in our latest edition – India’sMost Recommended Psychotherapy Treatment Providers 2021.
Source URL




