Clinical chats in line of GPs' fire

Nearly a third of GP practices offer patients counselling, but how effective is it?

COUNSELLORS using "talk therapy" in clinics are giving their profession a bad name and should concentrate on more sophisticated psychological therapies, a leading academic in general practice warns.

Commenting on the recent explosion of counselling in primary health care and the lack of guidelines on psychological techniques, Mike Pringle, professor of general practice at Nottingham University, said: "If the only intention is to sidetrack a group of distressed patients into 'talk therapy', where they undergo natural resolution of their distress, this might not be viewed as a cost-effective solution. For trained counsellors to call this counselling does not help its reputation or utility."

He added: "There is a role for chatting but either doctors or nurses can perform this adequately. I believe counselling can offer far more than that and must be done by people with specific skills. It should be seen as a long-term proposition and not an elastoplast service."

Despite his words of caution, Professor Pringle says he welcomes the advent of counsellors in primary health care.

But he is calling for a thorough evaluation of their skill mix and guidelines on how greater professionalism might be achieved.