The Future of Psychological Therapy

Book excerpt: The psychotherapy and counselling profession has recently experienced far-reaching changes because of the development of evidence-based medicine and managed care systems. The Future of Psychological Therapy brings together leading counsellors, psychotherapists, psychological therapists and managers to address how these changes are beginning to affect all aspects of the psychotherapy and counselling profession. It evaluates the impact of these developments, shows how they affect practitioner’s capacity to care, anticipates future developments and offers a coherent and viable approach to research and practice. The book draws on psychotherapeutic theory to develop insight into managed care and engages in qualitative microphenonena research into the complexities of clinical practice drawing on cutting edge developments. It aims to establish a balanced counselling and psychotherapy profession by: opening up a debate about these far-reaching developments which threaten the profession, challenging the rhetoric of accountability, audit, transparency and measurement of care, exposing the danger of sleeping through these momentous changes in the counselling and psychotherapy profession. The Future of Psychological Therapy is a timely and important book, examining the psychotherapy profession's approach to managed care and evidence-based research, and discussing whether a balanced, coherent and viable counselling and psychotherapy research and practice culture can be established. It will be of interest to practitioners, academics and policy makers in the field, non-clinical professionals and anyone who is interested in psychological therapy and addressing the worldwide deterioration in psychological health.