ABSTRACT
Psychotherapy is the treatment of emotional, behavioural or personality problems by psychological means. This chapter gives an overview of the psychotherapies that are currently practised in the NHS, and indicates how psychodynamic psychotherapy relates to these. It outlines the kinds of psychotherapy that are generally available within the NHS. There are other psychological interventions, some reputable and some of dubious provenance, which are less well known or less widely available, but these will not be discussed here. Cognitive therapy is concerned with the way in which maladaptive behaviour or feelings may be reinforced by thoughts. Psychodynamic psychotherapy is concerned with the way in which a person's mental representation of self and the world may lead to inappropriate behaviour in his present personal and working relationships. Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) helps a person to clarify current problems and find the best way of dealing with them.
