Identification and care pathways for common mental health disorders: summary of NICE guidance

Was I alone in experiencing a 'common mental health disorder' -- in
my case profound depression -- when reading the NICE guidance on common
mental health disorders [1]? It was not the displacement of clinical
expertise by screening questionnaires; nor the relentless advocacy of
cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for every 'disorder', while casting
doubt on counseling and psychodynamic therapy; not even the miserable
afterthought that 'social or personal factors...may have a role' in the
disorder's 'development and maintenance' (my italics). No: it was the
total absence of any sense of a suffering person in search of a
relationship with practitioner, able to understand, empathise with, and
alleviate psychological distress. Acknowledgement that by far the largest
contribution to good outcomes is the therapist/doctor-patient
relationship, aka 'therapeutic alliance', is conspicuously absent [2]. CBT
ideology, masquerading as science, has triumphed. Michael Balint: weep
in your grave.

[1]Pilling, S. et al. Identification and care pathways for common mental
disorders: summary of NICE guidance. BMJ 2011; 342: d2868 (28 May)

[2]Wampold, B. (2011) The Great Psychotherapy Debate New York:
Erlbaum