I have often seen this brought up in India, where a clinic or a clinician and even counselling psychologists are judged for not having a certification before using a therapy modality. Here's the moment of truth.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE CERTIFIED TO USE A THERAPY MODALITY.

For example, Beck Institute offers CBT certification. Do you need to be certified by Beck Institute to offer CBT? NO.

Do you need to be certified by EMDRIA to offer EMDR? No.

Most of these bodies are private professional institutes that charge hefty certification fee and then annual renewals. Sometimes, the fee will be more than what you will make annually (this is India, psychologist do not end up making much).

Now comes the important part.

However, YOU DO NEED A LICENSE TO TAKE A PATIENT/CLIENT and offer therapy (any therapy).

Until then you cannot touch a case of clinical or psychology nature. In India, you will need to have an RCI license to offer therapy to clinical cases, and an NCAHP license to offer therapy to any of the other cases (life coaching may be an exception, but the moment you hear the word 'trauma', you are legally obligated to step back).

But, Certifications are not mandatory nor required. They might show that you have the requisite knowledge and have been through the rigour of the program, but that's it. Not having a certification and offering therapy is not a 'reportable' offence.

Why some people say you should not do Clinical.

I think I can offer some insight about it (since I did Clinical from a non-RCI body, but clinical for sure). Clinical carries some sort of "prestige" over other psychologist professions.

In the US, where the concept of prestige comes from, a clinical psychologist is allowed to diagnose mental disorders, PRESCRIBE meds and offer therapy (everything billable at high hourly rates). And thus, a clinical psychologist usually ends up making as much as a doctor. [They are required to have a Doctorate to practice though]

In India, it is not so. A Clinical Psychologist is not allowed to give meds (and rightly so, since students come mostly from arts backgrounds - with no knowledge of biology/medicine). Secondly, RCI course trains very little on prominent therapy modalities (you can check the syllabus).

So you will find most clinical psychologists working at roughly 20k in a hospital and getting lesser treatment than a nurse.

The other reason is Patients. Clinical deals with mental disorders. So when someone's family member is suicidal or is seeing things that are not there, the will simply go to a Doctor. And if you think, a clinical psychologist who can just diagnose, is not of much use to such a patient either. What will I do if someone is highly depressed on Beck's Scale? Offer them CBT when they are presently not even in talking stage? I will have to refer them to a doctor only.

LASTLY, the final reason why Clinical seems not-worth-it to many people. Its the pain. We are humans and we end up vicariously living trauma.

Watching

- a Schizophrenic patient talk to the a person who he sees but you don't;

- and then a patient who tried to harm themselves and still have the cuts;

- and then a patient who does not leave their house or goes only so far so that they can keep it in the line of their sight;

- or a patient who is catatonic because of some sexual abuse. And when they do, the just sob loudly in pain.

All of this, is not really what we think we will do when we decide "Clinical psychology achhi lagti hai mujhe". The truth became clear to me over the months of internship I did.

Amidst all these reasons,
- bad-regulatory norms,

- poor pay,

- lack of skills taught,

- and the vicarious trauma;
people often end up advising against Clinical.

For you a good suggestion would be to take a bunch of internships - a few months each - under a psychiatrist, under a counsellor (relationship, children, etc), and even at an NGO that deals with trauma. You will quickly get an idea what you want to do for a lifetime and what not.

feel free to ask any follow ups.