When a shrink needs a shrink

Is your therapist judgy? A tattletale? A bully? Spot these red flags before you sit on the couch. All healing starts from a safe space

- Noor Anand Chawla

During the pandemic, Jaya, a 24-year-old documentary filmmaker, was matched with a life coach at an online mental-health fundraiser. What began as three free sessions turned into a year of weekly consultations. “I liked her at first, but then she began judging me for my life choices,” she recalls. When Jaya tried to talk about her weight gain, the coach would offer unsolicited advice on dieting and exercising. When one casual date turned out to be a bad move, the coach scolded Jaya over her lack of strong boundaries. “Maybe it was the generation gap. The coach was in her 40s; I was 19 at the time. But I know that a therapist isn’t supposed to inflict their opinions on their clients.”

The Mental Healthcare Act of 2017 acknowledges only clinical psychologists recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India. “The licensing body has not listed the eligibility for other kinds of practitioners; they have no legal association, nor any regulatory body overlooking malpractices,” says Ambika Chawla, a clinical psychologist with the mental health platform LISSUN. “There aren’t clear rules for problems that might occur, where to file a complaint, whom to go to, what board to address.”