Psychotherapy has proved resistant to collecting evidence on whether it works or not. Exceptions are rare in the field. Most therapists do not collect outcome measures on whether or how their therapy helps clients! There are a few exceptions and, in particular, Mick Cooper at Strathclyde and Michael Lambert in the US have put together extensive analyses of the research into therapy. What they found makes fascinating reading and has been picked up and developed by Nicky Forsythe into a programme for peer to peer low-cost therapy called Talk for Health.
There is compelling proof that talking to an empathetic peer is as good – and as effective in promoting well-being – as the more expensive and lengthy process of psychotherapy – and that is described in this article, published in Psychminded, the single most read on my website, so I’m posting it here and on my Facebook Psychology Page. If you’re considering therapy, you might think about Talk for Health instead!
Why aren’t we taught these skills at school?
You can find out more about Talk for Health here: http://www.positive-therapy.co.uk/
And here is the original article that has more than 200 readers on the site so far:
http://www.psychminded.co.uk/peer-support-cheaper-and-just-as-effective-as-cbt/
You can find Mick’s excellent book: ‘The Facts are Friendly” here: http://tiny.cc/0d5ng
