Public affairs and policy
We engage with external stakeholders to promote awareness of psychoanalytic thinking and psychotherapy to achieve our objective to facilitate and increase access to psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
We have worked with successive governments to promote the importance of good mental health and provided expert advice on a wide range of subjects – from depression and anxiety to complex needs, early intervention and the importance of a relational approach to public and social policy.
Our Public Affairs and Policy Priorities:
Urging Government to acknowledge and maximise the role of counselling and psychotherapy through the coronavirus crisis. We are doing this with BACP and UKCP and 22 organisations, including other professional bodies, service providers, think tanks and training institutions.
Securing the continued provision and expanded availability of psychoanalytic and psychoanalytic informed therapies in the NHS, reversing the trend that has seen complex mental health issues being responded to with a one size fits all approach usually involving only short-term therapies.
Introducing the requirement for commissioners and providers to deliver the full range of approved therapies in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme (IAPT), including dynamic interpersonal therapy (DIT) which is a evidence-based manualised therapy based on psychoanalytic theories.
Campaigning to modify the NICE draft guidance on Treatment for Depression in Adults to ensure the guidance is fit for purpose and millions of people suffering from depression continue to be able to access a wide selection of evidence-based treatments.
Promoting the expansion of relational and reflective approaches in the public sector at strategic and operational level to improve staff resilience. We are working to urge Commissioners to recognise the unique role of psychoanalytic approaches in supporting the mental health of NHS front line staff.
Supporting the extension of VAT exemption to psychotherapists and counsellors on the accredited registers of the Professional Standard Association (PSA) to remove a significant barrier to people accessing care privately and to address the lack of parity between physical and mental health and between mental health practitioners.
Promoting diversity in the profession through better access to training and to psychotherapy treatments that are inclusive and culturally sensitive. To do so effectively we also need government support. The cost of training is a major barrier to entering the profession and this acts as a significant barrier for many and especially for BAME groups. It would be a significant and positive step if government committed to supporting psychotherapy training through expanding higher education funding.
