FAQs

Psychotherapy is a non-pharmacological way of intervention focusing on modifying behaviors and thoughts of individuals. Research has shown psychotherapy to be an effective modality to rewire the brain in ways that modify the thinking pattern of the individual leading to reflection.

In case of child psychiatric disorders it has been observed that therapy is one of the first ways to treat the child even before medicine is given. The intervention depends on the age of the child and the disorder with interventions starting from the age of 2.5 years to 13 years of age. The therapy modality in children includes a lot of play based activities. In Adolescents, talking and reflection-based methods are employed as the concern differs with age. In adult psychotherapy the person is taught to reflect on his behaviour and thoughts leading to a change in behaviour patterns.

RCI is A Statutory Body of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities that provides licensure to the professionals trained in Institutes Affiliated to them. The professionals licenced under the council have to undergo a rigorous hospital-based training for 2 years and then they can practice on their own. The reports by these professionals are legally valid and are honoured all over India and the world.

A Clinical psychologist is a person registered in the Rehabilitation council of India. He has completed a total of 7 years of training from BA to MPhil and is eligible to legally issue reports for IQ assessments, Autism assessment and diagnostic assessments wherever necessary. The Clinical psychologist is the person designated to conduct psychotherapy sessions for people with mental illness and neurodevelopmental disorders. A counselling psychologist is trained for 5 years with a BA and MA in psychology and is not licensed as of now with the government. They cannot issue reports or deal with psychotherapy for mental illness and neurodevelopmental disorders. They are trained to deal with lesser emotional concerns like family issues and academic difficulties.

The involvement of the parents is an extremely crucial component of the therapy sessions as the child comes to the clinic only once in a week for an hour which makes it important for practicing the acquired skills at home to allow for generalisation of the learnings. The parents also are called as co therapist in the process of therapy as they assist the therapist and the child often modifying their stance towards the child and helping the child consistently improve in the process. Often during parent counselling the therapist also gives sufficient time to listen and help address the concerns with the nuances of behaviour of the parents and their impact on the child.

Psychometric assessments can be primarily used for three main purposes. One it helps the clinician or doctor in diagnosis and plan appropriate interventions. Secondly severity of symptoms can be measured. Thirdly for certification purpose where certain tests are constituted for assessment of disorders to avail government benefits   under the Rights of persons with disability act 2017.

Autism assessment is conducted using three main tests these include the Vineland social maturity scale, Aiims Modified version of the INCLEN Diagnostic test for Autism, Indian scale for Autism assessment (ISAA)/ Childhood Autism Rating Scale 2nd edition. These are standardised tools based on observation and scientific data.

Preparing assessment reports depends on the number of tests used by the clinician. It usually takes around 7 days for making reports of the assessments done on the client.