Mental health, already a matter of grave concern for the global society became a critical concern with the Covid 19 pandemic, as that led to sudden spurt in number of people requiring mental health related support. Given the existing acute shortage of skilled mental health professionals, the waiting period to meet a Counsellor reached an unreasonable high of 6-8 months in a country like the US. However, as ‘online mode’ became the default mode for providing every service, clients began seeking help of skilled professionals across the globe. For example, many clients especially belonging to the Indian diaspora in the US reached out to Counsellors in India. 

That to my mind is a big ‘change’ that began globalization of the market for Counselling services – hitherto considered unacceptable. Driven by cutting edge research, universities abroad offer study options in psychology benchmarked to such global standards. While many countries in Europe and elsewhere can boast of having such universities offering excellent educational programs, given their sheer number, the US or the UK naturally becomes the top study destinations for most foreign students. 

The first step of preparation towards applying to study abroad begins with building a suitable student profile. For graduate studies, apart from good academic performance, there should be evidence of individual research activities undertaken, roles played in community service and leadership. These should find a place in your resume. Hence it is recommended that a student begins his/her preparation for studies abroad as early as possible but not later than the second year of the bachelor’s program. While the GRE score may not be insisted upon by most universities, a good GRE score obviously adds significant weightage to your graduate application. 

As an applicant for a masters’ program, it is expected that the student is aware of his/her specialization of choice – such as Counselling, Clinical, Developmental Psychology and future career plans. While some of the programs offers a lot of flexibility in deciding the area of specialization even after joining the program, many others do not offer such features. Having decided the area of specialization, one will finally choose the specific program and university that best suits the candidate’s profile and aspiration. 

While it is not feasible to curate a specific university list that meets everyone’s requirement, a demonstrative list of some top universities in the UK would include UCL, Manchester and Kings College and those in the US would be Rochester, NYU and Columbia.  

As a critical part of the application process, students should pay adequate attention in preparing the two important documents, the Letters of Recommendation and Statement of Purpose. The applications are evaluated over 2-3 rounds spanning 2-3 months. While the first round for US universities commences in October of the year prior, that for  UK universities commences around November. However, as a rule, students should apply as early as possible. That improves their chances of not only admission to the university of choice but also scholarships and other forms of financial aid. 

Having completed the master’s degree, starting the professional journey requires you to be licensed by the regulatory authority of the specific country. While different for each country, the requirement typically will include minimum hours of supervised practice and passing a qualifying examination.

Santanu Choudhury, Founder Director of Lesli India Education (P) Ltd., and an alum of IIT Kharagpur and IIM Ahmedabad.

This article featured in “Uncommon Sense 2023-24” annual magazine of St. Xaviers College, Mumbai, Department of Psychology.