Miscellany

The Royal College of Psychiatrists and British Psychological Society Liaison Group for Psychotherapy are a recently constituted group attempting to make common cause in the provision of psychological therapies. The group is trying to reduce professional rivalries and address boundary issues in order to facilitate joint working and to take account of the frequency with which patients require the services provided by two or more disciplines. The group also wishes to highlight how all interventions have a psychological element that needs attending to in order to promote successful working. To make progress with these concerns there is a need to study the specific ways in which organisational issues either facilitate or hinder clinical work, and there is a need to study issues concerning the training and continued professional development of those engaged in psychological therapies.

The group would be very grateful for written examples that illustrate successful and/or unsuccessful working of psychological therapies. Anonymity of person and place will be preserved. The group would welcome examples of day-to-day difficulties or successes that arise from either philosophy, structure or training issues, and vividly written sketches of one or two pages in length. Of particular interest is to learn how an individual and his/her organisation began a particular plan or re-organisation, the steps pursued, the outcome and any lessons learned. Please address your replies and any enquiries to the Liaison Group's Secretary, Dr Goldstein, at 7 Oxford Road, Malvern WR14 2JD. E-mail: [email protected].

Dr A. Garelick, Royal College of Psychiatrists and Dr R. Goldstein, British Psychological Society - Co-chairs of Liaison Group for Psychotherapy.