The Evolution of Clinical Psychology in India: A Narrative Review of Historical Progress and Emerging Paradigms in Training

From its inception in British India, the goal of clinical psychology in India has evolved significantly, with training models embracing the scientist-practitioner model and based upon the rigorous science of psychology to date, primarily in the last 75 years. Postgraduate degrees like M.Phil. Clinical psychology has established a formal and substantial foundation of professional competence that takes into account theoretical foundations, practical applications of skills, and supervised clinical activities. However, recent force majeure developments, influenced by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, demonstrated a willingness to restructure, reorganize, and/or compress training pathways, with an aim to needle undergraduate entry points into the clinical psychology sphere. This narrative review outlines the historical evolution of training in clinical psychology in India. It questions the implications of moving on to newer versions that compress and/or reorganize training pathways. Although these activities are indicative of an intention to democratize and/or better access psychological services, they also start to raise the spectre of diminishing academic rigor and clinical preparedness. The review raises some open issues related to the potential unraveling of the foundations, the diversity of program quality, and early graduate readiness for professional roles. This review article, in a plea consistent with national policy frameworks, accrediting foundations, and international educational guidelines, promotes an evidence-based and cautious process of change.