An attempt to predict who will benefit from brief psychotherapy in a general practice setting

The possibility of predicting success in patients receiving brief problem orientated psychotherapy was tested in 18 adult patients selected from 10 Sydney general practices. Ratings were made of six clinical prediction criteria at the beginning of therapy and outcome was assessed directly after therapy and 12 months later. There were modest but significant correlations, particularly among the women, between the sum of the prediction ratings and the outcome 12 months after therapy.

General practitioner as psychotherapist

The importance of general practitioners attending to the emotional problems of their patients is demonstrated. Evidence has been presented concerning the feasibility and cost effectiveness of general practitioners developing the skills required to manage such disorders. A model for training general practitioners in counselling and interviewing skills, and in the more complex psychological therapies, is presented. It is argued that such an integrated approach would produce results superior to the present fragmented approach.