Setting up the Willesden Centre for Psychological Treatment

SUMMARY

The Willesden Centre for Psychological Treatment is a new facility built and funded by the Mental Health Unit in the London District of Brent. The unit was opened for clinical work in June 1985 and is a joint enterprise providing facilities for out-patient psychology services for Brent and a base for psychotherapy resources that were previously located at Shenley Hospital. Shenley is a large Victorian mental hospital situated about 20 miles from London in Hertfordshire and is the designated hospital for acute in-patient psychiatric services for Brent. In the first part of this paper I give an overview of the history of the negotiations that took place to bring about the opening of the Centre and then go on to make some general comments about the nature of the negotiating process itself.