Counselling in general practice: A review

The development of counselling has brought enthusiastic attempts to pioneer its application to a diversity of fields. One obvious target has been primary-care and the general practitioner's surgery, where there has been an increase in demand for help with 'life-problems' and a growing reluctance to prescribe drugs of doubtful benefit. The need for both time and expertise to respond appropriately has made counsellors welcome additions to many surgery teams. However, different professions and volunteer groups compete for the role; each cites evidence of its own appropriateness, rarely acknowledging, and never assessing, the contributions of others. Hence this attempt to bring together the findings of these disparate groups to demonstrate their undoubted similarities and to assess the value of 'counselling' intervention in general practice.