Regulating Lay Counselor Practice to Safeguard Public Trust in Counseling Psychology in India
AI Summary
Differentiate regulated professionals, supervised lay counsellors, and unqualified practitioners, highlighting mixed landscape and large mental health treatment gap.
Support supervised lay counsellors in evidence-based task-sharing under specialist oversight to expand access while maintaining quality and safety.
Implement statutory title protection, tiered workforce models, and enforce against deceptive online and short-course psychotherapy to prevent client harm.
Indian J Psychol Med. 2026 Jun 29:02537176261461726. doi: 10.1177/02537176261461726. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
India’s counseling psychology landscape features a mix of regulated professionals and supervised lay counselors in task-sharing models, alongside unregulated practice by unqualified individuals offering psychotherapy via online platforms and short courses amid a large treatment gap in mental health services. While supervised lay counselors play a constructive role in evidence-based task-sharing under specialist oversight, unregulated practice risks inconsistent quality and client harm. Statutory title protection, tiered workforce models, and enforcement against deceptive mental health services are urgently needed in India.
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