The Indian Teachers of Psychiatry (IToP) and the Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS) have jointly announced new guidelines on psychotherapy training for Indian medical students. The consensus was unveiled at the recent National Conference on Psychiatry at AIIMS Bhopal. Dr. M. Kishor, professor and head of psychiatry at JSS Medical College, Mysuru, and chair of the IPS Sub-Committee on Postgraduation Education, said psychotherapy training is vital for doctors to provide better care to patients with mental health issues. Globally, one billion people face mental illness, and in India, one in seven suffers from mental health problems, according to the WHO 2025 report and the National Mental Health Survey respectively. A survey led by Dr. Ajay Kumar of AIIMS Raipur found psychotherapy training is inadequate in many Indian medical institutions. To fix this, IToP and IPS collected input from students, teachers, experts, and patients in a year-long survey. The new consensus highlights that psychotherapy should be a core part of psychiatry training for both undergraduates and postgraduates. Undergraduates will learn basic methods like the BATHE technique, a simple patient-focused approach involving questions about background, feelings, and coping, followed by empathetic responses. Psychiatry postgraduates must complete 60-100 hours of psychotherapy training for diploma and doctorate courses, with at least six to 10 supervised cases. The Doctorate of Medicine requires 150 hours. Training includes detailed case documentation and assessments. Dr. Kishor said the training will improve communication, confidence, and reasoning skills vital for mental health care. This is the first consensus of its kind in Indian medical education history, aiming to boost psychotherapy skills among future doctors.