There is a lack of faith for the mental health profession in general, among common people, this is quite obvious in our country. People cannot visualize it, the emotions and the psychological process which happens within the individual, as it’s an internal process.
It’s a very abstract phenomena that cannot be seen in numbers, meters or in any kind of concrete measurements. The work is related to emotional functioning, which is difficult to show on paper. We all are very well aware of this and experienced it too. But unfortunately, we are a country of contradictions. Ironically enough, we Indians call ourselves as very emotional people, but with no understanding of emotions, rather we can say we are conditioned to suppress our emotions.
We fear handling emotions. In this kind of situation it’s very difficult to feel the need and significance of help for mental health. As such, we can easily imagine how someone assesses progress, and experiences improvement in his/her symptoms, which is definitely not positive.
It is also difficult to communicate about this psychological process to others. It’s like a hard nut to crack as visualization of abstract processes can’t be simplified for normal day to day conversation. For example, if a person with depression says that they are feeling better, this change can’t be quantified every time; Firstly, it is a subjective experience and secondly, it’s abstract in nature. Hence, there is an inherent need to depend on basic trust towards others and faith that this therapeutic process is working.
With regard to psychiatry, there is quite a lot of quantification done in the process of treatment, so progress is most often seen through simple, concrete and quantifiable terms, as stated earlier. But within the field of psychology, this process of recovery, commonly called psychotherapy, still possesses only subjective explanation making it liable to abstract renderings. A trained clinical psychologist tries to show the change that could be brought through the psychotherapeutic process, but continues to fail in renarrating the authentic experience.
As we move forward, we are trying to show this progress in a more “alive manner” – as a person’s functioning improves in all aspects of life such as personal, vocational and social. Yet the path to achieving success is long and arduous as representing these abstract phenomena that occur during psychotherapeutic processes in quantifiable forms is always subject to numerous changing factors.
To science, that number in eight billion may be termed as homo-sapiens, but to psychology each of these eight billion is an individual with his/her personal, professional, social and internal life. However, fortunately we do have some methods like biofeedback, relaxation and psychological testing (rating scales) that show the changes and represent a “real” experience of improvement, that can be perceived by the family or caregivers. As a long time, professional in this field of clinical psychology, I feel that there should first be a requirement of a positive mindset with regard to perceiving our emotional and psychological health.
Then, and only then will the world be a better place for the person who is suffering from any psychological distress. In today’s world psychological issues become a lifelong stigma on a person’s identity, However, keeping in mind the numerous technical difficulties faced in the developing field of psychology, it should be understood that such tags or stigmas do not define a person’s true psychological condition and thus should not define their standing in society.
I also feel being an experienced clinical psychologist that there is a pressing need of positive mindset with regard to perceive our emotional and psychological health among common population. Only then, it would benefit a person who is suffering from psychological issues. Finally, I would like to conclude stating that psychological/ mental issues are not to be taken as lifelong tags/stigmas. A person’s identity should not be judged with reference to the mental health issue that he once suffered from at some point of time in his long life.
The Article Reviewed By
Asha Hospital, Banjara Hills
India’s Best Psychiatric Health Care Center
25+ Years of Experience in Caring Minds.
Reviewed on: April 28, 2025
A sensitive issue explained in a sensible manner by the author. We need to take her views and suggestions seriously and implement them for a better world as these issues are in the rise the world over.
Thank you Dr. Prachi Chaturvedi for such an enlightening write up.