ABSTRACT
Counsellors in GP surgeries cannot refer clients to themselves to be seen pri vately. Good practice is to provide a list of known, local counsellors, leaving the client to choose. But the issue remains as to why counselling is so often time-limited, even when need exceeds what is on offer. It is one of the few areas where treatment is clearly rationed on the basis of cost. Counsellors working in this setting need to have dealt with their own attitudes towards time-limited working.
