Matthew Patrick – författare

Clinical audit can be a powerful tool for change, but is often perceived as externally-imposed time-wasting. Focusing on applications of clinical audit in psychoanalytic psychotherapy NHS services, the authors examine why audit is resented, how it can be 'reconstructed' as a useful tool for clinicals, and provide real-life examples of good practice. More than a simple 'how-to', this book provides new rnderstanding of a persistent problem in health-care organisations and will be of interest to all mental health staff, trainees and service managers.

Alessandra Lemma - Winner of the Levy-Goldfarb Award for Child Psychoanalysis!The contemporary relevance of psychoanalysis is being increasingly questioned; Off the Couch challenges this view, demonstrating that psychoanalytic thinking and its applications are both innovative and relevant, in particular to the management and treatment of more disturbed and difficult to engage patient groups. Chapters address: clinical applications in diverse settings across the age rangethe relevance of psychoanalytic thinking to the practice of CBT, psychosomatics and general psychiatrythe contribution of psychoanalytic thinking to mental health policy and the politics of conflict and mediation.This book suggests that psychoanalysis has a vital position within the public health sector and discusses how it can be better utilised in the treatment of a range of mental health problems. It also highlights the role of empirical research in providing a robust evidence base.Off the Couch will be essential reading for those practicing in the field of mental health and will also be useful for anyone involved in the development of mental health and public policies. It will ensure that practitioners and supervisors have a clear insight into how psychoanalysis can be applied in general healthcare.