Psychological Therapies in Primary Care: Setting Up a Managed Service

The aim of the book is to introduce the case for the management of psychological therapy services in the NHS as a result of the recent and very significant changes in primary care commissioning and mental health strategy. The historical context of the book is the development of counseling provision within the NHS and the introduction of Primary Care Organisations as a result of the U.K. government’s NHS plan (2000) together with the National Service Framework for Mental Health (1999).
The book is intended to be practical and accessible and is written in short easy-to- access sections. The chapters contain practical guidance and real information drawn from the authors’ considerable experience in NHS counseling. The introductory and final chapters put the need for a managed service model of psychological therapy provision in the context of today’s NHS from the perspective of clinical governance and professional quality standards and development. With the background of an ever-changing NHS, there is also a look to the future direction of the provision of psychological therapy in the shape of integrated managed teams in primary care and parallel professions.
This volume will be relevant not just to NHS managers and practitioners, but also to other counseling organizations and clinicians, since many of the structural and clinical issues raised will be applicable in a wider context.