Research on psychotherapy in India: A systematic review

We systematically reviewed empirical studies of psychotherapy with Indian clients. We defined psychotherapy as an intervention aimed at treating mental disorders using "talk," which, in a professional medical setting, along with the therapeutic relationship, acquires medicinal value. Besides manual searches in three leading Indian psychiatry journals, we conducted digital searches in PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases. We found that the commonly practiced evidence-based psychotherapy in India follows the cognitive-behavioral model. Our findings suggest several replication studies which claimed to have used the well-established western models of cognitive behavioural paradigm but have mostly focused on basic behavioural techniques in their protocol. A few innovations were observed, and several essential errors were noted. Innovations include contextual modifications to address the difficulties and challenges faced in service delivery, while errors include deviations from protocol without adequate rationale.

Status of cognitive behaviour therapy in India: Pitfalls, limitations and future directions-A systematic review and critical analysis

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) an evidence-based psychotherapy is practiced across the globe with a common cognitive and behavioral fidelity. The focus of this review is about the status of CBT in India based on the analysis of published research on CBT from India. Publication of papers related to CBT in the Indian population is scarce. Among the published researches, the observed practice defects could compromise the overall response from the globally proven CBT interventions. Hence, quality control measures should be put into practice to regulate the application of CBT in India.