HISTORY OF

PSYCHOLOGY IN INDIA
January 3rd, 2022

Asheeba, Akanksha, Disha, Jennifer, Kiran

BSc. Clinical Psychology
Ms. Asha Nidigal

INTRODUCTION
The roots of psychology in India can be traced back to religious and philosophical
literature. However, from the time of British colonial era until last 3-decade,
psychology has been dominated by the Western theories and concepts.
Indian intellectuals were highly influenced by western thoughts. When India began
to be an independent country, Indian psychologists slowly started to recognize that
they are led by European thoughts and theories. This led to a search and a wish for
an indigenous psychology.
In 1850s the British East India Company adopted a policy of finding only
European style education within its territories in India. The aim of this policy was
to produce a class of Indians with English thinking. To attain this goal, the college
and university education was modelled after Cambridge and Oxford (Misra G. &
Anand C. P, 2012).

Prof. Girishwar Misra

DAWN OF PSYCHOLOGY IN INDIA

From the time of British colonial era until the last decade, the psychology has been
dominated by the western theories and concepts. In 1850’s the British East India
Company adopted a policy of finding only European style education within its
territories in India. The main aim of this policy was to produce a class of Indians
with English thinking. To attain this goal the university and college education was
modelled after Cambridge and Oxford. They followed the western brands of
psychology. When India began to be an independent country, it had major
expansion in Indian educational system too. Indian psychologists slowly started to
recognize that they were led by European thoughts and theories.

PSYCHOLOGY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

 Dr. N.N Sen Gupta along with Gunamudian Davi Boaz are known as
founder of modern psychology in India.
 The first ever psychology department and the first psychology laboratory in
India was established in 1916 under the leadership of Dr. N.N Sen Gupta at
Calcutta University.
 Dr. Girindra Shekar Bose, who succeeded Dr. N.N Sen Gupta at Calcutta
University established the Indian Psychoanalytical society in 1922, by his
intimate contact and support of Sigmund Freud. Girindra Shekar Bose has
the appreciation as the first PhD scholar from Indian psychological field. He
received his PhD from Calcutta on the ‘concept of repression’.
 In 1923, Sen Gupta the as a leading proponent of the scientific nature of
psychological research took an effort to include psychology as a distinct
division of the Indian science congress. Thus psychology in India acquired
the status of a science at early age along with the discipline of science.
 The second oldest department of psychology was established at the
university of Mysore in 1924, head by M V Gopalswamy. The department
was offering M.A
 Degree in psychology until 1998. From 1998 syllabus revision had taken
place and the degree offered as MSc in psychology.
 The first Indian Psychological Association was established in 1925 by the
constant effort of S. N. Gupta.
 The Indian journal of psychology was founded in 1926 and the first official
founding editor was N. N. Gupta.
 Sen Gupta and Radhakamal Mukerjee in 1929 published instruction to social
psychology which was the first text covering the topic of social psychology
published in India. Sen Gupta also introduced psychology into the
philosophy curricula which prepared the ground to establish the department
of experimental psychology at university of Lucknow.
 Jadunath Sinha wrote a book on Indian theories of perception in 1934 which
was real effort for introducing Indian approach to psychology.
 In 1938 Meyers and Spearman were invited during the time of silver jubilee
session of Indian Science Congress Jung which helped India to establish an
applied psychology wing at Calcutta University.
 Department of psychology emerged from the department of philosophy in
university of madras in 1943.
 The establishment of "The Madras Psychology Society" took place in 1944.
 In 1946 psychology department institute at Patna provided opportunities for
psychological research and services.
 In 1947 Girindra Shelter Bose published journal Samiksha.
 Psychological research wing was established by India Government Defense
Ministry in 1949.
 In 1957 'The Madras Psychology society' published the first journal of
psychological researches Published.
 The department of psychology established at Delhi University as an
independent department in 1964 under headship of Prof. H.C. Ganguli.

 M.V Gopalswamy was the one who headed the department of applied
psychology at Mysore and Patna. He was trained at London University with
spearman in the mental testing tradition.
 He developed Indian adoptions of a western intelligence tests and Applied
psychology principles in the field of education.
 Gopalswamy was the first to set up an animal laboratory in India.
 In short time Patna emerged as a major center for teaching, research and
counselling services. Research during this period was mainly in the area of
sensation, perception, psychophysics and reaction time, influenced by the
work of Want and Titchener.
 Fascination for laboratory work and value for research, based on natural
science model, sustained the intact of Indian psychologists in India. Western
research in this area could easily be replicated without considering the
cultural factors.
 In the area of social facilitation psychology, early work focused on repeating
all ports experiments on social facilitation on Indian samples.
 In 1955, with the collaborative support of Erikson and McClelland,
advanced training programs in clinical psychology were introduced at All
India Institute of Mental Health in Bangalore.
 In 1961, the national council of education research and training (NCERT)
reviewed all the psychological tests that had been up to 1961.
 In 1964, The Madras psychology society published the Indian journal of
applied psychology.
 In India, Psychology has European roots. However, in the 21st century,
Indian psychology is capable to stand in its own foot with several
universities, significant psychologists and outstanding organizations rooted
in psychological interventions. Today, seventy universities in India have
 well-established psychology departments and institutes for both applied
research and the provision of psychological services to the public (Robert B
Lawson, Jean E. Graham, Kristin M. Baker, 2008). There is a remarkable
shift from experimental work to the understanding of the psycho-cultural
context using Indian traditional ideas in research, in building psychological
theories, in developing psychological tests and in the application of
psychology to all the disciplines of university studies and to the needs of
nation.

INDIGENOUS PSYCHOLOGY

Indigenous psychology and it’s history

Indigenous psychology is defined by Kim and Berry as “the scientific study of
human behavior or mind that is native, that is not transported from other regions,
and that is designed for its people”.
Indigenous psychologies usually use two distinct categories of psychological
knowledge; scientific and applied knowledge reflected in scientific and
professional psychology. Many indigenous countries prioritize these two
categories usually based on the application of psychological knowledge to
overcome challenges facing their culture, such as strengthening education,
employment, health, population control. Typically, indigenous psychologists refer
to their approach as one that seeks to develop a local psychology thoroughly
grounded in the language, history, and culture of their own society.
Under colonialism indigenous peoples have struggled against a Western view of
history and yet been complicit with that view. We have often allowed our
histories to be told and have then become outsiders as we heard them being
retold (Linda Tuhiwai Smith, 1999, p. 33).
One cannot dispute that the twentieth century was the century of American
dominance of psychology. For reasons that still need further documentation and
explanation, psychological science and practice ourished in America well beyond
what happened elsewhere. By the onset of World War Two, psychology had been
completely indigenized in the US (Danziger, 1985). With the economic and
military ascendancy of the US after World War Two, this thoroughly American
psychology was exported around the globe. It became redundant to use the
modifi er, American, before psychology. The accompanying history of psychology
by North American textbook authors refl ected this domination; historians of
psychology appeared to take it for granted that the history of psychology was
identical to the history of American psychology. Now, we are in a moment of
transition. The globalization process, for better or worse, is at the crux of our
present-centered concerns. It is clear that unless psychologists in traditional
centers of psychological knowledge and practices, in North America, Ireland, UK
and elsewhere, become cognizant of, and responsive to, the incredible impact
that globalization is having on every aspect of people’s lives around the world,
then we run the danger of becoming irrelevant. Concurrent with globalization is
the indigenization of psychology in many cultures and countries. Indigenization
takes many forms, from incorporation of Western norms that are then refi gured
with local content to rejection of Western approaches in favor of methods and
subject matter that are native to the culture at hand. Not only is indigenization of
psychology important and interesting, there is also a great deal of liberatory and
revolutionary potential in many indigenous psychologies (Martín-Baró, 1996). It
now seems more evident that the 21st century is unlikely to be another American
century in psychology.

Indigenous psychology in India

The origins of modern Indian psychology can be seen in the writings of numerous
famous philosophers, such as Vivekanand and Sri Aurobindoin .
The definitive work of Jadunath Sinha (1934/1958, 1962) on Indian psychology
can be regarded as a pivotal point in formally establishing it as a separate
discipline .Clearly, at the turn of the 20th century, the academic environment in
India is evolving.
The scientific community is better prepared now than in the past to accept a
psychology based on indigenous wisdom and philosophical writings.
Psychologists in India are becoming increasingly aware of the wide gap between
their academic pursuits and people’s real-life problems.
The recipient nature of research endeavours, outdated and obsolete education
programmes, and a lack of practical focus have deprived the discipline of any
professional momentum.
Indian psychologists aspire to break free from the discipline’s theoretical and
methodological limits in order to engage with genuine development concerns and
function as social catalysts in the transformation process.
On the one hand, the effort is to modernise Indian theories.On the other hand,
the aim is to modernise Indian theories, and on the other, to evaluate their
usefulness for improving human capabilities and well-being.
Against this backdrop, Indian psychology is preparing to usher in a new era filled
of interesting opportunities

Topic
Globalization and the field of psychology In the 21st
century

Student Names- Neha

Adithyan
Shreya
Mereena
Subject- introduction of psychology
Batch- 1st Year Bsc Clinical Psychology

The influence of Globalization

Globalization- It is the term used to define increasing interdependence of world's
economy , cultures and people all around the world which resulted from
exchange of good ,services , technology, information and also by investment and
pacts made between different institutions across the globe.

Study of Globalization
The topic of globalization until recently was mostly talked about only from an
economic point of view but globalization has also impacted the people, customs
and cultures of different parts of the world.
The study of globalization is explored through the following aspects:-
Globalization as internationalization- increase in the exchange of good and
services along with the interdependence between countries.

Globalization as liberalization- creation of concrete rules and policies and

Codifying them by foreign/international institutions.

Globalization as universalization- Forming a homogeneous culture which is

created on the basis of shared common experiences.
Globalization as westernization- Often known as Americanization where foreign
cultures and modernity spreads to local community which often negatively affects
the local culture.

Globalization as deterritorialization- spread of different cultures all around the

world to an extent in which local events are influenced by distant phenomena
occurring far away from them.

Influence of globalization on the following topics-

Self/identity- The idea of a self contained person which was established in a pre
internet era can no longer be applied to the people of the current generation,
currently the idea of a “globalized theory of a person” is explored which also
considers a person's highly interconnected social and economic status. Due to
globalization an individual's chance of getting expose to a new culture is no longer
limited by local media or direct experience , a person can access every
information and experience a different culture virtually through internet which
results in a far more complex identity of an individual.

Adolescent identity- the adolescent age group is a specific age group which is
prone to high levels of influence but at the same time they are capable of making
most decisions for themselves. Unlike children, they aren’t totally dependent on
their parents, and unlike adults they aren’t set for particular path in their life,
teens are still choosing and exploring everything around them thus making them
highly prone to specific things. This age group is the group that is influenced by
the different cultures, customs, and features globalization brings in which often
results in westernization and Universalization of globalization.
The proof being, major brands target teens as “global teens” since it has been
found that teens across the world have very similar interests due to influence of
globalization.

Pros of globalization-
Access to all kinds of information all around the world.
Easily getting to know different cultures and customs from all around the by
conversing with a local of that community through social media itself.
Foreign goods and services being easily accessible to locals from the other part of
the world.

Cons of globalization-
Digital deluge( large amount of information being bombarded on an individual),
which results in the feeling of overwhelmed, anxiety etc.
The difference between poor and rich increasing in countries especially in low or
middle income countries which results in lack of resources available to the poor
people which eventually affects their mental health as well.
Westernization of a particular group, which brings conflicts inside the particular
local group itself.

Globalization influence behavior

  A simple way to understand how globalization has influenced human
behaviour is to look at how some cultures values have changed over time. It
is important to note that globalization is often referred to as
Westernization, as the result is most frequently cultures adapting more
Western values.
Globalization is the process by which cultures can influence one another and
become more alike. It’s the spreading of cultural values through things like
technology (e.g. internet, TV), trade and immigration.

But the spread of ideas is often one directional, often coming from the West.
Western cultures (e.g. European countries, North America, Australia, etc.) are
highly individualistic, so as globalization has occurred over the recent decades,
other cultures have becoming increasingly individualistic as well. This
Westernization primarily occurs through the influence of media (TV, films, the
internet) and the effect of this change in values is an important topic to study.

Let’s look at India as one example, as India is becoming increasingly Westernized

with an increase in individualism ,And streets are bombarded with
advertisements for Western products like make-up and clothing brands. Despite
many traditions still remaining, it’s not hard to see the effects of Westernization
in India. This is especially true of younger people.

The increase in individualism in India has been measured through a number of

statistics These statistics include:

 Increased divorce rates,

 Smaller families,
 A decrease in three-generation households.

The spread of Western values through globalization could have negative effects
on people in collectivist cultures.
Effects of globalization on psychological practices
In recent decades, the advancements in technology, social media, transportation,
and globalization of consumer goods have assisted in making our world
increasingly interconnected. Many cultures have begun to acquire Western
ideology due to various means of communication and access to Western
advancements in medical discoveries, political action, and economic
development.

The influence of Westernized systems and beliefs continues to spread around the
world at a rapid pace. It is difficult to travel abroad without seeing a Starbucks,
McDonalds, or an internet café on every street corner. With continued
technological advancements, society has become dependent on electronic forms
of communication and we tend to feel isolated without access to Facebook,
Google, or BBC News. Some argue that globalization provides an opportunity to
strengthen the recognition of human rights, produce openness to new cultural
experiences, eliminate cultural barriers, and create dialogue about cultural
differences .Furthermore, research indicates that increased access to information
about other cultural traditions generates stronger cultural identities and fosters
more effective problem solving skills by incorporating other cultural strategies like
meditation and mindfulness into personal development .

This assumption of biological and psychological unity among humans validates

Westerners who feel obligated to provide care to other cultures based on the
belief that they have more advanced and accurate understandings of medical and
psychological processes than other developing countries.

Globalization may also alter previously determined social contracts within a

community resulting in a divide rather than unity between members, which may
hinder psychological well-being and social functioning and the idea of cultural
homogeny due to the effects of globalization may lead to conflicts and
destabilization between communities who value their cultural background and
resist the influence of Westernization.
PSYCHOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

The concept of psychology and psychological ideas have presented itself passively
or actively throughout history. Notions of psychology can be picked up from all
the way back in ancient history. Contribution to Psychology has been made from
700 BCE through the psychological experiments that went down in Egypt, done by
Psamtic 1, to the concepts proposed by historical figures like Homer, Pythagoras,
Socrates, Hippocrates, Plato, Galen etc.
In the 19th century psychology was finally acknowledged and accepted empirically,
the research was focused on quantitative measuring and performing experiments.
Social institutions too were influential in this century.
In the 20th century, more significance was given to analysis. Freud’s examination
of psychopathology and Carl Jung’s analytic psychology were important to this
century. The latter half of the year was centred around the need for
standardisation of mental illnesses- The DSM was released. An advancement was
made into functional specialities within psychology.

In the 21st century there was a shift from behavioural perspective to cognitive
perspective. Study focused on the brain, action and the determinants of those
actions- psychoanalysis was no longer the central subject. Now reliability for
knowledge was not entirely limited to just empirical sources but rationality too.
Other mechanisms of acquiring information and knowledge like reasoning,
memory, attention and language were also given an increased acceptance.
Popular methods of therapy have shifted from a psychoanalytic one to a cognitive
one – empowering the patient by being in charge of their own condition.
Attempts are being made throughout the years to make mental health services
more affordable. Psychology was finally also more welcoming towards diversity
and inclusive of differences. Spirituality and faith were considered as reliable
sources of knowledge – like in the earlier times of psychology. As a result, the
media in the 21st century linked psychology to faith and intuition. Through the
advancement in Information Technology, The internet and News Networks,
psychology was accessible to many more people. Psychology is being accepted
and brought into the mainstream with its usefulness being recognized by the
general public.

The advancement in technology has played a definitive role in setting the trends
in 21st century psychology. Psychology being spread over all fields imaginable, the
growth and research in the subject is also rapidly increasing. Biological research,
software or instrumentation panel designing are examples for some of the
applications of psychology not often thought of upfront.

The main trends of this century include- neuroscience, evolution, computers,

fragmentation, positive psychology, applied psychology etc.

NEUROSCIENCE
Neuroscience refers to the collection of disciplines concerned with the structure
and function of the nervous system and brain.
The link between brain studies and the real world application for neurological
findings have accelerated. The APA declared 1990’s to be the ‘Decade of the
Brain’. It was discovered that over half of our genes deal with brain related
functions and genes influence our behaviour. The new development of a
sophisticated brain scanning system that scans and studies your brain when a
complex task is being performed, pointing out exactly what areas of the brain are
being used to do the specific tasks, has largely contributed to the current
disposition of neuroscience, thus also expanding the applicability of
neuropsychology findings. Into the 21st century however, a multidisciplinary
initiative was formed- creating the ‘decade of behaviour’. It accepted both the
importance of studying the brain as well as studying human behaviours that
determined all problems and solutions. Behavioural neuroscience focuses on
topics such as learning, memory, motivation, homeostasis, sleep and biological
rhythms, reproduction- and on the neural mechanisms underlying these
behavioural functions. Cognitive neuroscience focuses on topics such as attention,
perception, representations, decision making, memory systems,heuristics,
reasoning, and executive functioning- and on the neural mechanisms in the
human brain that underlie these representations and processes. There is also
social neuroscience that deals with behavioural, neural, hormonal, cellular, and
genetic mechanisms.
New discoveries are constantly being made in the field of neuroscience- which are
also exposed to the general public through news and media. One of the many
discoveries include – the ability of MRI scans to predict psychological characters
to at least to some extent. It was found that the brain structure of highly
intelligent children was different from that of average children- thus making it
possible to predict the intelligence of an unborn child. Being able to predict the
potentials of individuals could help provide them with the most productive
resource that will benefit them and the society- it can also help in identifying
criminals before they commit a crime- bringing down the quotient of violence. In
the future if such advancements are made, it can greatly benefit psychology in
growing out of the realms of social science.

FRAGMENTATION
The fragmentation of psychology refers to the expansion of specialisations within
the field of psychology. Psychologists no longer just work in clinical or scientific
settings, their work is required in more fields ranging from business and
management, media and advertising, intelligence agencies, government and
political agencies, schools and other applied branches, prisons and rehabs,
forensics, research centres and much more. The APA currently has 54 divisions of
psychology. The study in each specialisation is so specific and distinct in their own
way that they are irreplaceable by a different field. Interdisciplinary synchrony
can help in the development of multiple fields simultaneously.

COMPUTER:
The growing technology is probably one of the most influential factors that makes
21st century psychology completely stand out from the rest of history.
Computer psychology is a study linking the field of psychology and computers.
Like people, computers too can develop problems if unable to handle the tasks
provided. They learn about how computers interact with humans or with other
computers. The shaping of Artificial intelligence where computers can do
translation, speech recognition and decision making etc require the participation
of psychologists.
Computational modelling (programming computers to model or mimic aspects of
human cognitive functioning) and Artificial Intelligence are both valuable
approaches for understanding the nature of intelligent thinking, and provides
insight to the field of cognitive psychology.
AI’s assist mental health practitioners to work better by providing advanced tools
to assess patients, for example- infrared imaging to recognize temperature
change, facial recognition to confirm patient’s identity, optical sensing to analyse
facial expression and eye blinking, vocal analysis to perceive differences in speech
characteristics, olfactory analysis to identify intoxication- all of which stays as
insightful additional data for any references, making medical treatments easier.
The detection and computational analysis of psychological signals play such a vital
role in recognizing if the soldiers returning from combat needs mental health
support. They make their extensive stored data readily available anywhere any
time. Computers have been shaping psychology through their role in research,
computerised presentation allows far more standardisation and more efficient
control in research. Computers are often compared to the brain, but this concept
has application in real life. Psychological research in object identification for
example, has been used to develop scanning systems I store. Neural network
modelling is adopted to adjust the jets that keep satellites within their orbits.
Tasks like these are more time efficient when performed by computers.

AI’s can directly conduct e-therapy or Virtual Reality Therapy for patients in the
comfort of their homes at lower prices than a regular therapy session, or
indirectly contribute by assisting the practitioner in the process of helping the
patient. Virtual Reality offers patients opportunities to explore their issues
through immersion. Virtual companions too greatly help in taking care of one’s
mental well being and keep them from being left alone and vulnerable, they
wouldn’t also feel safer knowing that help is within the reach of their hands. AI
based psychology apps are readily available for use on the internet, providing
services ranging from cognitive behavioural therapy, mood and stress tracker,
anxiety relieving games and activities, emotional support, depression and other
mental health advice etc.

TECHNOLOGY DEPENDENCY
Technology dependency is defined as a short or long term reliance on machines
and techniques to evaluate, satisfy or resolve health problems. This refers to
either relying on medical equipment/devices (like oxygen support or ventilation)
in daily life, and relying on technologies (like mobile phones) to function
throughout their daily life. Technology dependency or nomophobia- the fear of
not having one’s phone with them, can get to the point where not having your
technology with you can cause significant stress, anxiety and inability to think or
focus on anything else. Since technology is unavoidable in our daily lives, unlike
other addiction it is impossible to completely cut off or not come across it, in
order to recover from the unhealthy habit. Which is why it is important to
moderate and limit your usage within a healthy boundary. People tend to
withdraw themselves from others and there is a decrease in human interaction, it
acts as an escape to avoid feelings of discomfort, anguish or stress.
It has shown connections to mental health issues like depression, anxiety and
insomnia, it is also detrimental to your physical health. Social media could largely
influence one’s feelings of low self esteem, perfectionism, comparison, pressure
to be liked- leading to depression or other mental conditions like eating disorders.
Social media is also the hub for cyberbullying and ill competitions.

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Martin Seligman, who laid the foundation for the well known psychological theory
of “learned happiness” is the founder of positive psychology. He was the
president of APA in 1998, he along with the “founding father” of flow- Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi, published the foundational paper of positive psychology in the
year 2000.
Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living,
focusing on both individual and societal well being. It aims to improve the quality
of life, concentrating on your strengths rather than weaknesses- trying to build a
better life instead of fixing what is bad. There has been an increased application
of positive psychology in schools, that is positive education. Research and studies
shows that work spaces that execute positive psychology work extraordinarily,
rapid growth of positive psychology in clinical applications is also an evidence of
them being successful. It proves that even a slight shift in one’s perspective can
help maximise the potential for happiness in many everyday behaviours. In the
betterment of the quality of their life. Some examples of such practises are-
cultivating gratitude, spending money on experiences rather than materialistic
possessions, physical affection, intentionally creating a positive mood to match
the outward emotion they need to display, performing acts of kindness etc.
Positive psychology is different from self help, footless affirmations or secular
religions. Though the central focus is on the greater side of things, positive
psychology acknowledges the negatives. Simply overlooking your internal
struggles will not help you reach a better state, in fact it has been found that
forcing people who are not naturally optimistic to “think positively” can do more
harm than good.
EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY
Evolutionary psychology is the study of behaviour, thought and feelings with the
base being evolutionary biology. Psychology is a key factor in Evolutionary science
because it is proved that development in the human brain and mind benefits the
survival of their species. And on the other side, the theory of evolution, since the
beginning has been important in the field of psychology- especially in
functionalism. Evolutionary psychology examines how biological evolution affects
one’s cognitive and behavioural pattern. Today, Evolutionary psychology can be
defined as an approach to psychology that is directly informed by evolutionary
knowledge and reasoning. It researches in various courses like- Empathy, conflict
monitoring, cross cultural psychology – all of which can help in understanding and
bringing together people and society as a whole. Study of human, early human
and animal genomes can help discover insights of behavioural, physical and
mental illnesses- their development, and other concepts of understanding, like for
example- “what sets humans apart from other animals?”. Evolutionary psychology
can help predisposition mental and physical disorders- with which we will be able
to seek appropriate measures from initial stages of the disorder itself.

Psychology in India
India is growing towards being a developed country and it is progressing very fast.
But this progress did not come alone. It comes with a lot of problems specifically
in the field of Mental Health. Over 30 lakh people in the country are suffering
from mental illnesses and it is set to overtake cardiovascular as the single largest
ailment in the near future. It is very interesting to trace the history of psychology
being taken up and studied by Indians.Though empirical psychology was
introduced in the early first quarter of the 19th century in India its growth was
slow and sluggish till the independence in 1947 because of the research facilities
which were almost non-existent. The research activities gained momentum during
the fifties and sixties. Slowly Indian psychology started gaining grounds.

Indian psychology is an approach to psychology based on the Indian Ethos,

characteristic spirits of the Indian civilization. In other words it is a psychology
rooted in the consciousness based Indian worldview of yoga and a little
spirituality. These approaches have made a crucial contribution to our Global
civilization. To support this development Indian psychology institute has been set
up with the specific objective of assisting with the introduction concepts, theories
and practises from Indian psychology into academics and the professional
practice of psychology. “Indian Psychology” does not mean the psychology of
Indian people, rather it refers to psychologists encouraging or carrying out the
recently experimented activity in this field.

Research on this field occurred in early 1930 but the activity intensified after
the manifesto on Indian psychology was issued in 2002 by more than 150
psychologists gathered in Pondicherry India. It was led by K Ramakrishna Rao,
Girishwar Mishra and others. Since the issuance of this field, active psychologists
have produced scholarly and scientific publications that include a Textbook,
handbook, several other edited volumes, a journal special issue and a variety of
other books and journal articles. Conferences on Indian psychology have been
held in several Indian cities and sometimes drawing scores of presentations.
Topics mentioned by Indian psychology and scholarship included conceptions or
processes relevant to values, personality, perception, cognition, emotion and
creativity, education and spirituality as well as the applications such as
meditation, yoga and Ayurveda and case studies of prominent spiritual figures
and their legacies. Indian psychology studies methodological pluralism and
especially emphasises Universal perspectives that relate primarily to a person’s
inner state and are not otherworldly, religious or dogmatic and with special
emphasis on applications that encourage the development of the positive
transformation of human conditions toward achievement and well-being. Indian
psychology sees itself as complementary to modern psychology, capable of
crossing modern psychology limits and capable of being integrated with many
parts of modern psychology. Other fields that are relevant and partly overlap with
Indian psychology include modern scientific psychology, neurophysiology,
consciousness studies and Indian philosophy and religion.

Psychology is a good career choice in India. Demand for trained psychologists

is increasing in India. Branches of psychology well-known in India are- clinical,
counselling, industrial, educational and forensic psychology. Clinical psychology is
one of the established fields of psychology in India. Clinical psychologists are
recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India and can do private practises as
well.
 As the world becomes more and more aware of the significance of Mental
Health, the importance of Mental Health professionals is also being recognised.
There are various types of Mental Health professional list in India like
psychiatrists, councillors, psychiatric nurses, psychiatric social workers and also
psychologists. India has produced a lot of truly great mental health professionals.
Some of them are Dr Subin Vazayil from Kerala, Dr. Kamna Chhibber from New
Delhi, Dr. Vipul Rastogi from Gurugram, Dr. Nagachandran from Chennai and Dr
Rashi Bijlani from New Delhi

THE COVID TIMES

The recent Covid-19 pandemic has had significant psychological and social effects
on the population.COVID-19 pandemic significantly has had an extraordinary
global impact, with significant psychological consequences. Changes in our daily
lives, feelings of loneliness, job losses, financial difficulty, and grief over the death
of loved ones have the potential to affect the mental health of many. Research
has highlighted the impact on psychological well-being of the most exposed
groups, including children, college students, and health workers, who are more
likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and other
symptoms of distress. The social distance and the security measures have affected
the relationship among people and their perception of empathy toward others.
From this perspective a new trend Or a new way of progression in psychology
took place that is TELEPSYCHOLOGY ( Telepsychology or telemental health: The
provision of behavioural or mental health care services using technological
modalities, or in addition to, traditional face-to-face methods (e.g., provision of
therapy using the phone or video conferencing methods ) and TECHNOLOGICAL
DEVICES assume important roles to decrease the negative effects of the
pandemic. These tools present benefits that could improve psychological
treatment of patients online, such as the possibility to meet from home or from
the workplace, saving money and time and maintaining the relationship between
therapists and patients during covid pandemic
-group 4
(Chaya, Karthik, Thanima)