Critical review of the review of psychotherapy services in England

Abstract

Summary This review of the Review has become something of an historical paper. It addresses the context and climate in which the Review's recommendations were originally formulated. The government has changed since the review was published in September 1996. With it, there have been some alterations in the political context which have rendered the points made a little, but only a little, less immediately with us. However, the potential of the human psyche to generate and to respond to the type of superego mental-functioning I try to describe remains, even if there are a few signs of lessening severity. For this reason, the points made retain some long-term relevance. Last but not least, the momentum established by the Psychotherapy Review offered a real opportunity for progress and development.