Alison Faulkner
The NICE guideline for depression is a very long and technically complex document. NICE acknowledges that treatment decisions should be made in discussion with patients and that patients should be given a choice. But there is currently no evidence-based patient-centred information resource (or “guide to patient choice”) which could support patients to take a fully informed role in understanding their options for psychological therapies and discussing these with their GP.
The aim of this consultation was to inform the development of a guide to choice in psychotherapy (specific to depression). It was funded by the University of Essex ESRC Impact Acceleration Account. This was a user-led consultation, intending to form part of a larger study to be conducted in collaboration with partners from the University. The conduct of the consultation was led by Alison Faulkner and Premila Trivedi on behalf of NSUN and Shaping Our Lives, both of which are user-led organisations, with the aim of starting with the voices, views and experiences of people with lived experience of psychological therapy for depression.