India urgently needs licensing and regulatory body for sports psychology

Academician and research scholar Dr. Shivjot Gill has no hesitation in making a clarion call for the urgent establishment of a body to licence and regulate the practice of sports psychology in India. 

“If we aspire to become a global sports power, we must get more professional about the quality of sports science support for our talent at all levels,” said Dr. Shivjot Gill, who recently co-authored a research paper on psychological capacity building programme for Indian athletes and is developing EcoAthletica as a platform to help mental strength for individuals and teams.

“Given the stigma around mental health in India, there is a growing need for licensed mental health professionals specialising in sports psychology. Incorporating mental health support into training programs will be essential in addressing the athlete’s psychological challenges and promoting their overall well-being,” she said, citing one of the paper’s recommendations.

Interestingly, the Indian Sports Psychologists’ Association (INSPA) also identified the lack of clarity in certification, supervision and ethics among the key takeaways from the second Mind The Gap 2025 conference in Bengaluru recently. Indeed, INSPA has also been concerned with the rise in the number of psychologists and mind coaches wanting to help Indian athletes.

Dr. Shivjot Gill pointed out that there is a policy under the framework of the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 and National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professional Act 2021. “We can't deny that Government has laid down rules and procedures in place for, among others, clinical psychologists, community care, behavioural health sciences and other professionals,” she said.

However, she pointed out that the needs of athletes call for different kinds of provisions. “Britain, the United States and other parts of Europe have Sports Psychology Associations or organisations that are specifically looking at the mental health of athletes. They lay down protocols and systems as a part of the larger sports ecosystem. We need such a set up,” she said.

Britain has a professional body called the Chartered Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences. It has Sport and Exercise Psychology Accreditation Route to ensure that candidates acquire the knowledge, skills and experience required to be eligible to apply for registration with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a Practitioner Psychologist. 

BASES has a well-established Supervised Experience and Accreditation scheme. This includes 3200 hours of activity including 275 hours of supervision over two or three years. It is only after registration with the HCPC that members are able to use the title: Sport and Exercise Psychologist.

Similarly, in the US, the Association for Applied Sports Psychology offers accreditation for Certified Mental Performance Consultants (CMPC). Only those with such accreditation can go on the field and work one-on-one with athletes because they have the training, and the skill sets to work one-on-one with athletes.

In India, this system exists only in clinical psychology. “We have Rehabilitation Council of India  licenses granted on the basis of certain set of training. We have this kind of licensing in special education. Why don't we have this in sports?” Dr. Shivjot Gill said, agreeing that as India aims to host the 2036 Olympics, the pool of talent needs greater professional support.

“It is fair enough that in India today clinical psychologists who are interested in sports and who have a passion for sports are gravitating towards sports psychology. But what kind skill sets do they have and what knowledge do they have to deal with a special kind of a population like athletes who train and function in a very different set up,” she said.

Dr. Shivjot Gill said psychological capacity building it is still a new concept in India. “We are so into information from the West, adapting and implementing their programmes. But we aren't identifying the specific need of Indian athletes when it comes to looking at implication of psychology and of mental practice,” she said.

“Psychological capacity is the capability of an individual to work on certain psychological aspects of their life, of their sport. It varies from person to person. Building psychological capacity is distinguishing where an athlete is lacking and working on it rather than saying that we work on all the aspects of their psychological capabilities,” Dr. Shivjot Gill said.

Yet, even as India comprehends psychological capacity of each of its athletes, it is important that the sports ecosystem pushes for a licensing and regulating body for sports psychologists and mind coaches in sport, more so if its athletes and their parents are to shed their reluctance to use mental training skills for performance enhancement.