Cohort Two · Curriculum
Curriculum
Seven disciplines. Eighteen modules. Sixteen weeks. Taught in order, by people who practise them.
Commences
First week of December 2026
Duration
Sixteen weeks
Modes
Ahmedabad and online
Programme lead Dr. Sarthak Dave, MBBS, MD (Psychiatry). Enquiries: Kavya Bothra, +91 78770 49920, Kavya@vibhapsychology.com.
Programme
Seven disciplines, taught in sequence.
Each discipline runs as an ordered sequence, not standalone talks, and closes in work you produce and defend. Geriatric psychiatry sits inside clinical psychology and psychopharmacology. Counselling skills run through every module.
- 01
Neuropsychology
Brain and behaviour · attention and memory · cognitive assessment · reading a neuropsychological report
- 02
Clinical psychology
The main body of the course. Psychopathology · the interview · mental status examination · formulation · intervention · forensic practice
- 03
Child psychology
Development as baseline · assessment in children · behaviour by age · working with parents
- 04
Psychopharmacology
Drug classes · mechanism · adverse effects and monitoring · geriatric and paediatric prescribing · when to refer
- 05
Psychotherapies
CBT · DBT · psychodynamic · humanistic · third wave · the basis for choosing between them
- 06
Hypnotherapy
Induction · trance states · suggestibility · clinical application and its limits
- 07
Counselling
Listening that goes somewhere · silence you can hold · boundaries · risk · closing a session without leaving a client open
How it runs
Live weekly sessions · sixteen weeks · every session recorded · guest faculty drawn from practising clinicians
Parity of modes
Identical content offline and online · same assessment in both · online is not an abridged version
Faculty
Led by Dr. Sarthak Dave, MBBS, MD (Psychiatry), Co-Founder & Lead Faculty, who takes the clinical teaching and certification. Dr. Vishwa V. Dave (Co-Founder, CEO & CFO) and Kavya Bothra (COO & CMO) lead the school with him. Faculty brings together psychiatrists, child psychiatry, hypnotherapy, mindfulness and other specialised areas of mental health.
Syllabus · eighteen modules
Eighteen modules, in order.
Modules 01 to 05
- 01
Foundations and the therapeutic stance
Mental health field · teaching-hospital model · normal versus abnormal, the four Ds · neurosis versus psychosis · ethics, MHCA 2017, scope of practice · the counselling room: seating, body language, presence · microskills: attending, listening, questioning
- 02
The clinical interview and the MSE
Interview architecture · history taking, chief complaint to premorbid personality · full MSE schema · insight, judgement, reality testing · rapport, silence, the basic listening sequence · collateral history and the Indian family
- 03
The psychodynamic mind
Freud: id, ego, superego, psychosexual stages · dream analysis, free association · Jung, Adler, Horney, Sullivan · object relations, attachment styles · defence mechanisms, the Vaillant hierarchy · cognitive distortions
- 04
Psychological assessment and psychometrics
Reliability, validity, norms, standardisation · interview, observation, case-study methods · projective testing, TAT and Rorschach, with psychometric critique · rating scales: PHQ-9, GAD-7, Y-BOCS, AUDIT · graded standardised-patient encounter
- 05
Mood disorders, anxiety and suicide risk
Depressive phenomenology to treatment plan · anxiety spectrum: GAD, panic, phobias, social anxiety · behavioural activation, CBT for depression · risk assessment: C-SSRS, the CASE approach · Stanley-Brown safety planning · crisis intervention
A father calls his son “just moody”. A structured mental status examination surfaces pressured speech and grandiosity, a picture the family never thought to mention.
Modules 06 to 10
- 06
Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and OCD
Bipolar affective disorder · interviewing mania · schizophrenia: delusions, hallucinations, formal thought disorder · catatonia recognition · the psychotic interview · OCD cycle, themes, insight spectrum · exposure and response prevention
- 07
Applied psychopharmacology and prescription reading
Diagnostic hypothesis from an anonymised prescription · drug classes, SSRIs to mood stabilisers · dose logic, combination reasoning · adverse effects, monitoring, red flags · referral and collaboration with prescribers · mid-programme test
- 08
Theories of mind and development
Rogers, Maslow · learning theory: Pavlov, Skinner, Bandura · Five Factor Model · nature and nurture · Piaget, Vygotsky, Kohlberg · memory, intelligence, information processing · cognitive biases in clinical judgement
- 09
Psychotherapies I: cognitive and behavioural
CBT in depth, thought records to behavioural experiments · REBT: ABC model, disputation · exposure therapy, systematic desensitisation · behavioural techniques · the CTS-R rubric, how your CBT is scored · hypnotherapy: induction, trance states, clinical application
- 10
Psychotherapies II: third wave and humanistic
DBT, the four skill modules · ACT and the hexaflex · person-centred, existential, Gestalt · narrative therapy, transactional analysis · motivational interviewing: OARS, change talk · applied positive psychology
A new file shows lithium alongside an antipsychotic. Before the client speaks, bipolar disorder with psychotic features is already on the differential.
Modules 11 to 14
- 11
Personality disorders and countertransference
Grandiose and vulnerable narcissism · borderline personality, the biosocial model · splitting, rage, abandonment in session · antisocial and histrionic presentations · Clusters A and C differentials · countertransference training
- 12
Therapy formats, crisis and de-escalation
Couple therapy and the Indian family system · family, group, grief counselling · therapy after relationship loss · addiction: the stages of change · de-escalating the agitated patient · substance use screening, de-addiction pathway
- 13
Somatisation, conversion and the neurocognitive disorders
Conversion, somatisation · Indian idioms of distress, culture-bound syndromes · the three-D differential: delirium, dementia, depression · MMSE and MoCA administration lab · counselling the caregiver · neurodegenerative patterns: Parkinson’s, Lewy body, frontotemporal
- 14
Child and developmental psychology
Developmental and parent interview · ADHD: presentations, differentials, behavioural parent training · autism spectrum, early signs to refer · specific learning disability, school accommodation · speech and language disorders: triage, referral
Modules 15 to 18
- 15
Trauma, PTSD and eating disorders
Trauma spectrum: acute stress, PTSD, complex PTSD · trauma-informed interviewing, grounding · the phase model, stabilise before processing · eating disorders, medical red flags · interviewing the ego-syntonic illness · SCOFF screening, family-based treatment
- 16
Documentation, research literacy and capstone
SOAP, DAP, BIRP note formats · biopsychosocial formulation, the five Ps · referral letters, professional correspondence · appraising a randomised controlled trial · capstone: longitudinal case portfolio
- 17
Integrative and lifespan topics
Clinical psychopharmacology across the lifespan · geriatric psychopharmacology, polypharmacy in older adults · paediatric dosing, medication safety · social psychology: aggression, conflict resolution, group behaviour · matching modality to client, stage, evidence
- 18
Forensic psychology
Fitness to stand trial, competency · MHCA 2017: involuntary admission, capacity · risk and violence assessment · expert testimony, forensic report writing · sexual offence and POCSO cases
Psychometric instruments
Screening, severity, risk
PHQ-9 · GAD-7 · Y-BOCS · AUDIT · CAGE · SCOFF · C-SSRS · PCL-5
Cognitive, developmental, personality
MMSE · MoCA · Conners · Vanderbilt · M-CHAT · TAT · Rorschach · MMPI · 16PF · NEO · Wechsler scales
Your own competence
CTS-R and MITI therapy rubrics · SOAP, DAP, BIRP documentation formats
Only the most requested instruments are taught in depth; the rest are covered as awareness. Modules 01 to 16 run in order across the sixteen weeks; module 17 runs throughout; module 18 is scheduled once the interview and assessment modules are complete.
Method, assessment and certification
Taught, practised, then defended.
- 01
Standardised-patient programme
Trained actors · unscripted cases · blind format · faculty scoring and video review · supervised real-patient exposure where available
- 02
Practical case discussion
Real cases from faculty practice · reasoning asked before the answer is given
- 03
Simulated patient practice
Extra interview repetitions between sessions · full range of presentations · a supplement to supervision, not a replacement
- 04
Documentation practice
Intake, consent, note templates · safety-plan and referral formats · therapy worksheets · faculty correction
Assessed continuously, then examined.
- Continuous
- Weekly assignments · reflective portfolio · case logs from standardised and real-patient encounters · individual written feedback, not a grade in isolation
- Timed written work
- Formulations written under a clock · marked and returned with the reasoning set beside your own · periodic tests across the sixteen weeks
- Final examination
- Written examination, identical online and offline · supervised encounters · submitted portfolio
- Certification
- Certificate awarded by Dr. Sarthak Dave, MBBS, MD (Psychiatry) · a shortfall means structured remediation and a re-sit, not removal
What the certificate is not
Not a standalone licence to practise independently. Independent practice still requires a formal psychology degree and statutory registration such as with the Rehabilitation Council of India. The certificate attests to the practical clinical competencies you demonstrated in the programme.
Questions
Asked before joining.
- Who may join?
- Students, graduates, professionals from adjacent fields. No degree, age or experience requirement.
- What does the certificate certify?
- Practical competencies demonstrated in the programme: interviewing, mental status examination, assessment, documentation, therapeutic technique. Verified through assignments, tests and the final examination.
- How do online and offline differ?
- In content, not at all. Full curriculum, same assessment, every live session recorded.
- If I miss a live session?
- Watch the recording. Same assignments, same examinations.
- If I fall short in an examination?
- Structured remediation, targeted feedback, a re-sit.
- Why study medication if I cannot prescribe?
- A prescription carries diagnostic information and safety signals. Pharmacological literacy allows credible collaboration with psychiatrists, within your scope of practice.
- What does it cost?
- Fees, monthly payment and instalment options are discussed on enquiry. Call the number below.
Also taught: professional practice
Fee structuring when beginning practice · bookings, records, payments, client boundaries · referral networks with physicians, schools, clinics · ethical promotion without overclaim · caseload, burnout, professional sustainability
Also available to college students
On-the-job training and monthly internships. Supervised clinical exposure, documentation work and case discussion, running alongside the cohort or independent of it. Enquire on the number below.
Theory ends here. Practice begins.
VIBHA School of Psychology, Ahmedabad, India. Topics, sequence and faculty are subject to minor revision as each cohort runs. Enquiries: Kavya Bothra, +91 78770 49920.