WE MUST ACT!

If you think that the NICE changes won't affect you and the patients/clients you serve, you are wrong.

UKCP is asking that NICE:

recognise the validity of research other than Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) for all evaluations of relationship focused interventions
undertake a complete reappraisal of the recommendations within Guidelines for Depression in Adults DRAFT (February 2009) in the light of that recognition
provide a new DRAFT which gives proper weight to evidence of best practice
extend consultation on any proposed Guidelines on Depression to include evidence of effectiveness of psychological therapies not included in this DRAFT

As a brief summary, which is by no means exhaustive, it is UKCP's view that:

these guidelines fail in their stated aims of being "useful to clinicians and service commissioners in providing and planning high-quality care for people with depression"
while these guidelines may be "intended to improve the process and outcomes of healthcare", they will not do so
these guidelines are not "derived from the best available research evidence" as they rely solely on RCT based research
the overall effect of these failures is to restrict the choices available to "service users and their carers in making informed decisions about their treatment and care" to their inevitable detriment and
while the need to include briefer interventions is understood, the complexity of the problems faced by many individuals is such that there is also a need for longer term psychotherapeutic inputs that address the complexity of the issues faced by that individual, couple or family.

For psychotherapists, psychotherapeutic counsellors and counsellors who work within the NHS, the impact will be direct. For those in private practice or the third sector, the knock-on effect will take a little longer but is inevitable. NICE explicitly states that the guidelines "will also be relevant to the work ... of those in ... the independent sector." They will inform the public, guide funding decisions - for example on Employee Assistance Programmes, council-funded programmes and volunteer agencies will act on them.

NICE's specific remit is "to provide a single source of authoritative and reliable guidance for patients, professionals and the public". We believe the guidelines published for consultation do not meet that requirement.

If we ignore this opportunity to make our concerns visible, it places at peril the people we all serve. Under our charitable aims we are pledged to 'promote research and education in psychotherapy and to disseminate the results of any such research' as part of our goal to protect the public interest.

As a formal stakeholder UKCP will be submitting a vigorous response to NICE. It is in the process of compiling its detailed arguments, which we will be publishing on this website. In the meantime you have a vital part to play.

Further information

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