Theoretical Paper Exploring the effective length of therapy in a healthcare organisation

Abstract

Content & FocusThe effective length of therapy is a current professional issue affecting counselling psychologists worldwide as the demand on resources increases and the availability of resources decreases. A priority of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) is to identify strategies to scale up coverage of key interventions in resource constrained settings, promoting the involvement of service users in their own care and treatment. One often neglected area of therapy which may contribute to achieving these objectives is the length of treatment. This paper examines the evidence evaluating the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions of different lengths, and considers the problems associated with clients being prescribed a set number of sessions according to a presenting problem. A relatively recent individualised approach with client input is evaluated, with considerations of how this might fit within counselling psychology philosophy and global mental health policy.