Clinical Psychology

The Department of Clinical Psychology offers clinical services for those in need of psychological intervention. We are professional Clinical Psychologists licensed by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI). All consultants are trained in assessment, diagnosis and specialised psychological treatments for various clinical mental health conditions across the life span – from childhood to old age. 

The field of clinical psychology focuses on clinical applications of psychological principles for treatment of various mental health conditions. Ours is a relatively young department in the hospital, with humble beginnings in the year 2009. We are dedicated to providing evidenced based psychological care, counselling and psychotherapy to our patients. We work in close liaison with various other departments of the hospital and are deeply committed to providing efficient mental health support and care for those in need. 

• First department in the state to Kerala initiate MPhil Clinical Psychology programme, in the year 2016 and impart quality training to aspiring Clinical Psychologists, equipping them with professionalism and expertise. 

Appointments: +91-484-2858433, +91-484-2851234 

Email: [email protected] 

The department functions as different units. Each unit has consultant Clinical Psychologists with specialised training and experience in handling patient care. All units provide out-patient services on all working days. We provide in person/direct as well as online consultations. 

• Adult Clinical Psychology Unit 
• Child & Adolescent Unit  
• Neuropsychology & Rehabilitation Unit 
• Psychiatry Services Unit 
• Behaviour Therapy Unit 
• Family & Marital Therapy Unit 
• Liaison Services Unit 
• Community Services Unit 

Our team efficiently provides psychological evaluations and intervention of all mental health conditions across the lifespan.  

Liaison & Community Services 

Psychological difficulties associated with various medical conditions –  

• An independent department with daily out-patient services 
• A strong team of professional Clinical Psychologists certified by the Rehabilitation Council of India 
• State of the art psychological assessments and diagnostic services 
• Evidence-based psychological interventions for mental health disorders. 
• Liaison with other clinical departments in the hospital towards enhanced patient care and addressing psychological needs. 
• Online & in-person consultation services offered. 
• In addition, the department also runs the prestigious MPhil Clinical Psychology programme, a 2 year course recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) as mandatory qualification for Clinical Psychologists to practice across India.  

Out-patient services are available everyday (Mon-Sat) from 8am-5pm. All our faculty are committed to patient care and treat it as priority. In addition, they are also involved in teaching, supervision & research. The faculty have specialised expertise in various areas and are always keen to refine the quality of services provided in the department.  

• Independent and fully functional Clinical Psychology department within a leading tertiary care hospital.
• Expert team of mental health professionals delivering accurate diagnosis and effective treatment
• Convenient access through direct walk-in consultations and referrals from other departments
• Most trusted referral centre for clinical psychology by both private and public institutions
• Specialised clinics to provide focused care for your unique psychological needs

The Department of Clinical Psychology provides the following services: 

Psychological assessments

• Developmental assessment 
• Intelligence assessment (IQ testing) 
• Aptitude testing/ Career Interest evaluation 
• Evaluations specific to various clinical conditions (see diseases treated) 
• Personality evaluations 
• Neuropsychological assessment 
• Marital & Family assessment 
• Diagnostic psychometry for various psychiatric disorders 
   

Psychological interventions & Psychotherapy

• Psychological Counselling 
• Supportive Psychotherapy 
• Relaxation Training 
• Behaviour Modification & Therapy 
• Problem solving & Social Skill Training 
• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) 
• Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) 
• Interpersonal Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT) 
• Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) 
• Marital/ Couple Psychotherapy 
• Family Therapy/ Family counseling 
• Trauma focused interventions 
• Play Therapy 
• Neuropsychological rehabilitation/ Cognitive retraining 
• Remedial Training  
• Biofeedback  
• Group Therapies 
• Brief Therapies 
• Motivation Enhancement Therapy (MET) 
• Management of substance use disorders & behavioral addictions
    

Online Psychotherapy Services

We also offer online consultations for psychotherapy services which can be availed at your convenience. 

Assessment and Diagnostic Services 

• Assessment of Intelligence: A deficiency in intelligence can be a major reason for poor performance at school, or other activities of daily life. Using standardized procedures, we assess the intellectual ability of the person and try to understand the level at which he or she is functioning. 
• Assessment of Personality: This service helps to identify personality traits underlying various psychiatric conditions and personality disorders. 
• Diagnostic Clarification of Psychiatric Disorders : This service aids in the diagnosis as well as the severity of an underlying psychiatric disorders using standardized diagnostic materials such as Rorschach Inkblot Test, Thematic Apperception Test, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and rating scales. 
• Neuropsychological Assessments: This service primarily aims at understanding the various functions of the brain by a detailed assessment using standardized neuropsychological tests. It is useful in planning intervention and rehabilitation strategies and tracking improvements in functioning.  
• Online & In-person Psychotherapy/ Counselling Services 
  Therapeutic services aim at addressing and improving the psychological health of persons through interventions that supplement but do not use medications. 
• Relaxation Training: Relaxation techniques help a person to relax; to attain a state of increased calmness and reduce levels of anxiety, stress or anger. Relaxation techniques can decrease muscle tension, lower the blood pressure and slow heart and breath rates, among other health benefits. 
• Behavior Therapy: Behavioral treatment approaches are focused on treating maladaptive behaviors. The therapeutic approach assumes that both normal and maladaptive behaviors are learned and that appropriate therapy will help a person learn new adaptive behavior and ‘unlearn’ maladaptive behavior. 
• Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy: A wide variety of developmental (autism, mental retardation), behavioral (hyperactivity, conduct disorders), and emotional challenges (depression, anxiety, stress related rage) of children and adolescents are assessed and treated by using behavioral, cognitive behavioral and psychodynamic methods. 
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Cognitive behavioral approaches focus on changing the faulty cognitions (thinking processes) of people about themselves and other people to more accurate perceptions. 
• Family and Marital Psychotherapy: Family and Marital services focus on the family or the couple as a single integral unit to which each member contributes significantly. In family and couple therapy, the entire family or both members of a couple are treated simultaneously – not just the person identified as having the “problem”. The therapy also focuses on enhancing adjustment between the couple and other members of the family unit. 
• Cognitive Remediation/ Rehabilitation: Cognitive Retraining/ Remediation involves a group of techniques that aims to restore cognitive functions like attention, memory, language, emotional functioning and executive functions. Cognitive Rehabilitation also involves working with families and caregivers of patients who underwent neurological/neurosurgical conditions like dementias, encephalopathies, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular conditions etc. 
• Group Therapy: Group Psychotherapy is a therapy in which a group is guided by a trained therapist to help each member of the group effect changes. Several technical maneuvers and theoretical constructs are used by the therapist to optimally utilize the group members’ interactions to make that change. 

As professional Clinical Psychologists, we aim to provide the best care for our patients and their needs. As academicians, we provide focussed expert training and supervision to our students towards refining their learning and skills for effective clinical practice. We also aspire to integrate our clinical expertise with value based research and therefore contribute to scientific knowledge on psychological principles of human behaviour. 

• MPhil Clinical Psychology 
• Observership/internship for undergraduates  

Assessment and Diagnostic Services

• Assessment of Intelligence: A deficiency in intelligence can be a major reason for poor performance at school, or other activities of daily life. Using standardized procedures, we assess the intellectual ability of the person and try to understand the level at which he or she is functioning.
• Assessment of Personality: This service helps to identify personality traits underlying various psychiatric conditions and personality disorders.
• Diagnostic Clarification of Psychiatric Disorders : This service aids in the diagnosis as well as the severity of an underlying psychiatric disorders using standardized diagnostic materials such as Rorschach Inkblot Test, Thematic Apperception Test, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and rating scales.
• Neuropsychological Services: This service primarily aims at understanding the various functions of the brain by a detailed assessment using standardized neuropsychological tests. It is useful in planning intervention and rehabilitation strategies and tracking improvements in functioning.
• Our department is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for: 
• Psychological assessment 
• Diagnostic testing & psychometry 
• Relaxation & Biofeedback training 
• Individual, Marital & Group Psychotherapy 

• Psyber Clinic –  Towards management of behaviour addictions 
• Transgender Mental Health – psychological evaluation and interventions 

• Psychometric evaluations 
• Personality assessments 

• Community Awareness programme – Safer Internet Day 06 Feb 2024 
• Sensitization programme –Management of Problem Behaviours – for parents & caregivers of children diagnosed with Autism – 04 April 2024 

Advanced treatment for various mental health disorders & psychological conditions  

Online Psychotherapy Services

You may want to manage stress, deal with distressing anxiety or depression, work on improving relationships, or just enhancing your potential through better understanding of oneself.

At the Department of Clinical Psychology, Amrita Hospital, you can be assured of availing the services of qualified and licensed clinical psychologists.

Psychological consultation and psychotherapy through online platforms such as skype and zoom, allows you to access quick and hassle free professional therapeutic services from the comfort and privacy of your home.

Online psychotherapy may also be combined with direct face to face psychotherapy sessions also. This will help in ensuring regular follow-ups even when visiting the hospital may not be possible due to time or distance constraints.

Instruction & Guidelines

For a hassle-free consultation!

Please read the following before taking an appointment for online psychological consultation. First and foremost, ensure that you have a clear and interruption-free internet service provider, as this is critical to make sure that your session goes on without any disturbance.

Step 1: Registration

You must already be having an MRD number from AIMS. If not, first register by following this link

Patientportal.aimshospital.org/PatientPortal/login

Tele Psychotherapy – Initial Consultation/ initial psychotherapy -first 5 psychotherapy sessions (up to 1 hour) – INR 1800 per session

Tele Therapy – Psychotherapy follow-up session (up to 45mins) – INR 1000 per session

Tele Brief Therapy – Brief review session (up to 30 mins) -INR 800 per session

Tele Marital Therapy – Initial Consultation/ initial marital therapy – first 5 marital therapy sessions (up to 1 hour) – INR 2000 per session           

Note: Cancellation is required to be informed at least two days prior to the appointment, therefore making you eligible for rescheduling of appointment. If not, a new appointment will be given only on new payment. No refund will be done at any point of time.

For further enquiries, please call the Clinical Psychology PRA on 0484 – 2858433 during working hours: 9 am – 4 pm IST.

Please fill in the form below and submit (Only after the appointment has been allotted)           

Step 2: Make an Appointment

• Once you have an MRD number, please call during working hours on 0484 – 2858433.
• The PRA will help you fix an appointment and provide the bank transfer details to make the payment.
• Complete your session payment and then enter the details correctly in the given form.
• After receiving the payment and the details, the PRA / Secretary will contact you to confirm the appointment.
• Appointment will be provided only depending on the earliest available time with the available consultant.
• All appointments will be scheduled during working hours: 9 am – 4 pm IST.

Step 3: Online Consultation   

 After the time has been allotted, you must simply log in through your Skype ID and search for the given Email ID of your clinical psychologist. Send a request to this ID and your psychologist will call you at the allotted time. The entire duration of the session would as per the session chosen.

Your psychologist and you may decide your next session and thereafter you may repeat the above steps again. You also have the option of paying for multiple sessions if already discussed and would like to pre-book your appointments to prevent delays.

Psychotherapy and Counseling Services

Therapeutic services aim at addressing and improving the psychological health of persons through interventions that supplement but do not use medications.

• Relaxation Training: Relaxation techniques help a person to relax; to attain a state of increased calmness and reduce levels of anxiety, stress or anger. Relaxation techniques can decrease muscle tension, lower the blood pressure and slow heart and breath rates, among other health benefits.
• Behavior Therapy: Behavioral treatment approaches are focused on treating maladaptive behaviors. The therapeutic approach assumes that both normal and maladaptive behaviors are learned and that appropriate therapy will help a person learn new adaptive behavior and ‘unlearn’ maladaptive behavior.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Cognitive behavioral approaches focus on changing the faulty cognitions (thinking processes) of people about themselves and other people to more accurate perceptions.
• Family and Marital Psychotherapy: Family and Marital services focus on the family or the couple as a single integral unit to which each member contributes significantly. In family and couple therapy, the entire family or both members of a couple are treated simultaneously – not just the person identified as having the “problem”. The therapy also focuses on enhancing adjustment between the couple and other members of the family unit.
• Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy: A wide variety of developmental (autism, mental retardation), behavioral (hyperactivity, conduct disorders), and emotional challenges (depression, anxiety, stress related rage) of children and adolescents are assessed and treated by using behavioral, cognitive behavioral and psychodynamic methods.
• Group Therapy: Group Psychotherapy is a therapy in which a group is guided by a trained therapist to help each member of the group effect changes. Several technical maneuvers and theoretical constructs are used by the therapist to optimally utilize the group members’ interactions to make that change.