Dr. David Murphy:

I will respond to the Deputy's second question first if that is okay. The therapy I was referring to is person-centred experiential counselling for depression, which is available in England as part of a suite of therapies. It is only one approach but it is the one I am trained in and familiar with. I am advocating it on behalf of the manual because I think it is a particularly good approach for this type of problem in general practice. There are others but this is the one I am here to speak about. In terms of a recruitment shortfall, my understanding, through IACP, there is an under-worked workforce of counsellors who would be ready and able to participate in this particular training if it was available to them. This is the situation in England also. I think there is too much dependency on medication but I see that as a symptom of a lack of alternative options rather than necessarily the problem itself. Within the particular approach of person-centred experiential counselling for depression there is not the same kind of dependency on the use of a diagnosis as there might be in, say, a cognitive behavioural therapy in terms of specifically identifying a diagnosis and then working in a particular way for that particular problem. This particular type of therapy is much more adaptable. It is underpinned by a theory which is a unitary theory of distress, which it is possible to apply to a range of problems. In primary care, it is ideal because, as identified in the case study referenced, some people only have anxiety or depression. Often it is the cross-cutting processes which are more beneficial to work with.