Psycho-analytical psychotherapy in the National Health Service.

therapeutically effective. This author utilized different treatment methods, ranging from discussion, guidance and persuasion to an analytical approach which aimed at inter pretation of transference and resistance. All patients except two were treated individually and sedative medication prescribed when considered necessary. If, in the future, it should be substantiated that the results of such treatment are favourable then the second task must be the assessment of the economic commit ment which the utilization of psycho-analytical psychotherapy entails. The question will then change from “¿ doespsycho-analytical psycho therapy work ?“to “¿ canthe National Health Service afford psycho-analytical psycho therapy?― Sometimes it is hard to dismiss the idea that it is this second question which is avoided in such informal discussions as do occur. In this paper, results will be presented which the writer obtained during psychotherapeutic work at the Lansdowne Clinic, Glasgow. The Lansdowne Clinic is a National Health Service Clinic for out-patients who suffer from psycho neuroses. Various forms of psychotherapy are conducted at this clinic, but only the results obtained with the use of psycho-analytical psychotherapy will be described here. The technique of treatment was based on psycho analysis in so far as the patients were en couraged to freely associate and priority was