Objective 

As in Australia, demand for psychotherapy is rising in Britain, and the wide variety of psychological treatments available within the National Health Service (NHS), the independent sector, and voluntary agencies leads to uncertainty about which patients are most suitable for which type of psychotherapy, as well as the appropriate balance between psychological and pharmacological interventions.

This paper describes how Birmingham Health Authority (HA), the largest HA in England and Wales with a population of just under one million, developed and implemented an evidence-based strategy for the use of psychotherapy services.

Method 

A literature search and health needs assessment for psychotherapy in Birmingham was performed.

Results 

It was possible to estimate the need for evidence-based psychotherapy services using routinely available epidemiological data.

By matching specific techniques to individual diagnosis and estimating the size of the population for whom this was appropriate, demand for psychotherapy exceeded service provision by a factor of four. (...)