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The appearance of this new book on managing psychological therapies in primary care comes at a crucial moment in the development of counselling and psychotherapy in primary care in the NHS. It is a moment when, looking back over the last 15 to 20 years, one can conclude that much has been achieved. Psychological therapies have clearly established their place as a key component of mental health service delivery at a primary care level. It is also a moment of transition, for as the authors note the days of the independent self-employed practitioner are over. The requirements of clinical governance and equity of access to services, to minimize postal code determination of the quality of service provision, means that the structured management of counselling services across PCTs or Mental Health Trusts has become unavoidable. Such a period of transition creates new challenges and opportunities. It is also potentially a moment of considerable risk that the whole endeavour to establish flexible humane counselling services in the primary care setting may become shipwrecked on the wind of bureaucratization and over-simplification.
The authors of this book are seasoned practitioners who possess a wealth of experience in management and in acting as consultants to both counsellors and managers working in primary care. Joan Foster is Chair of the National Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists in Primary Care and Antonia Murphy worked as co-ordinator of the Southern Derbyshire Health Authority managed counselling service. Between them they have written a book in a very engaging and often witty style on a subject which might otherwise seem rather dry and technical. They are able to do this because they possess a clear knowledge and appreciation of the history and current context in which the development of counselling in primary care has taken place. They have been at the forefront of the emergence of this branch of the profession, and their book reflects their own enthus