The World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2017 labeled India as the “most depressing country” in the world since one in seven people suffer from some kind of mental illness. The COVID 19 pandemic this year has caused a lot of disruptions in people's life, majorly at a social level causing trauma. The majority of people need an emotional support system with them, that can help them cope up with emotional distress caused due to entanglements, loss of dear ones, and to fight stress in this hour. As soon as the lockdown period commenced, there was an increase of about 20 percent mental illness within a week. People prone to depression and anxiety are dealing with severe stress due to economic hardships and unemployment like reasons.
In a population of about 1.3 Billion Indians, there are not more than 9000 psychiatrists as reported in 2017. By 2020, the ratio is almost the same since there is still a gap between the fulfilling needs of required young professionals in the field of psychology. There is a need for narrowing down this gap, which is only possible if students in their higher education are deliberately encouraged towards pursuing this sector of the medical profession.
Psychology refers to helping people learn how to live and manage several circumstances in life for the mere reason of existence, it is seen as a career option having a vast scope in the near future. After completing higher education studies, students can opt for pursuing an undergraduate course like BSc, BA in Psychology. The course is for three years, and there are several job opportunities in this field which range from research to teaching and working as a counselor along with a psychiatrist.
A Master’s degree of two years can also be pursued in colleges like George Mason University US, University of Oxford, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, and Harvard University which are famous for offering its students excellent psychology programs. There are limitless options having reasonable salaries, so it solely depends on an individual’s vision to choose the right path in consultancy and practice.
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