Modern psychotherapy is increasingly concerned with the integration of models and their application and evaluation in specific patient populations. Time to assess is usually greater in psychotherapy than in general psychiatry, as is therapy contact time. Work is usually arranged within strict time boundaries, so the Specialty is ideal for those who work part time. On-call is minimal, although evening work to fit in with patients' needs is encouraged. There are opportunities for private practice, but compared with other specialties, remuneration may be relatively low.
More psychotherapy research is needed, but valid measures of efficacy can be hard to come by.
Psychotherapy can be a somewhat lonely occupation, if only individual therapy is practised, but this can be countered by group work and liaison with colleagues. Essential Qualifications To enter the Specialist Registrar grade, trainees must have spent three years in general psychiatric training and have passed MRCPsych. It is helpful to have done a psychotherapy post as an SHO, or to have taken on psychotherapy cases under expert supervision. SHO and Specialist Registrar posts are relatively few and some psychotherapy units around the country have either been closed or have undergone radical change in recent years.