ABSTRACT
Psychological therapies have a substantial contribution to make to primary care and this is increasingly recognised. Developing good leaders within clinical groups has been recognised as essential by the National Health Service but has yet to be fully embraced by psychological therapies, many of which are still grappling with operational issues. Clinical supervision and clinical audit programmes in psychological therapies may provide evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness. Examples of good practice and how standards could be achieved included the use of counselling and other psychological therapies focused on common mental health problems in primary care. Training is vital because there is a huge need for a more psychologically literate workforce as well as increased psychotherapeutic skills in the development of new teams and services. All services will be commissioned and psychological therapies, along with everyone else, have to prepare for commissioning by costing their service and having the evidence of their effectiveness.
