Psychotherapy patients in Britain’s National Health Service say the care they receive often feels standardized, even interchangeable, rather than responsive to who they are.
A new qualitative study of National Health Service psychotherapy finds that many patients want treatment to fit them, not the other way around. The researchers asked 148 adults who had received NHS psychotherapy to describe what felt helpful, what did not, and how treatment might be improved.
According to the results, published in Psychotherapy Research, patients emphasized the value of therapy that is personal and flexible, that builds a strong relationship with the therapist, and that digs beneath surface symptoms to underlying causes. They criticized approaches that felt generic, manualized, or rushed. Others highlighted the importance of learning concrete skills and gaining agency, while warning that one-size-fits-all care risks leaving people unheard.
As the authors summarize, the analysis highlighted “the patient’s preference for personalized treatment, the importance of therapeutic alliance, [and] the demand for depth in therapy,” with patients urging “more tailored approaches and stronger therapist-patient relationships.”
The study was led by Emily Li of Yale University, together with David Kealy of the University of British Columbia, Karin Aafjes-van Doorn of Yeshiva University, Jason McCollum and John Curtis of University College London, Xiaolu Luo of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and George Silberschatz of the University of California, San Francisco.
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