Culturally Adaptive Mental Health Intervention in India; a Narrative Review

Pertaining to the diversity and constantly evolving nature of the population in India, there is a need for indigenous approaches to mental health intervention (Thomas, Sandhu & Jain, 2020; Hossain & Purohit, 2019). Practitioners have reported effectiveness of combining religious and cultural concepts from texts like Ramayana, folk tales and yoga in understanding client beliefs and motivating change (Bhide, Kurhade, Jagannathan, Sushrutha, Sudhir and Gangadhar, 2021; Ramsahay, Sasidharan, Thulasi & Rawat, 2023). The past decade has observed significant changes in the domain of psychology and psychiatry in India (Sharan & Tripathy, 2021). In this light, the present study aimed for a narrative literature review on approaches and models of mental health intervention suggested effective for the Indian population based on its socio-cultural context. The results reveal the use of culturally relevant vernacular concepts, practices, cultural systems and alternative healing practices like yoga and spirituality to make counselling and psychotherapy effective.