Introduction

Only recently have efforts been made formally to include “psychological therapies” as part of integral planning for mental health care Nevertheless, the demand for psychotherapy in primary and secondary care has increased steadily, revealing even more clearly a lack of provision and an unequal distribution of services. This chapter examines the term “psychotherapy”, along with training, provision, and integration of psychotherapy services and identified the confusion that has resulted from the use of the generic term “psychotherapy”. In examining the delivery of psychological therapies, three distinctive elements of psychotherapeutic work were identified. Type A (integral)—general psychotherapeutic skills provided by any mental health worker within a multidisciplinary care package. Type B (generic)—a complete (“stand-alone”) psychological treatment intervention informed by a range of different models, tailored to individual goals—including generic counselling. Type C (formal)—a complete (“stand-alone”) and clearly delineated psychotherapeutic intervention based on a clear theoretical framework with implications for the use of different treatment interventions to achieve different aims.