Individual Psychotherapy ("Talking Therapy"): A Survey of Attitudes among Residents & Specialists in Psychiatry, Israel 2010-2011.

BACKGROUND

Individual psychotherapy is an efficient tool and an integral part of psychiatric treatment. However, its status among psychiatrists in Israel has never been explored.

OBJECTIVES

To explore and map the attitudes of psychiatrists in Israel regarding psychotherapy and psychotherapy training during residency, with comparisons between residents vs. specialists, peripheral vs. central institutions and mental health vs. medical centers.

METHOD

We conducted a cross-sectional survey to examine the attitudes toward individual psychotherapy. The questionnaire was delivered via email and direct approach to psychiatrists in Israel.

RESULTS

The survey was completed by 229 of 1,502 registered psychiatrists (15.3%). While 96% (n=218) had positive attitudes towards psychotherapy, 93.1% (n=215) thought psychotherapy was less available than pharmacotherapy. Psychiatrists from peripheral institutions prefer cognitive behavioral therapy, while psychiatrists from central institutions prefer dynamic psychotherapy. Psychiatrists from mental health centers use more dynamic psychotherapy compared to psychiatrists from medical centers. The number of dynamic psychotherapy treatments psychiatrists delivered during their residencies has been decreasing over time, meaning residents today deliver fewer dynamic psychotherapy treatments compared to the number of treatments specialists delivered during their residencies. Additionally, 97.4% (n=225) believed psychotherapy training should be included in the psychiatric residency and 87.3% thought that the training should be improved to a great extent.

CONCLUSIONS

The survey demonstrates mixed but overall positive attitudes towards psychotherapy among psychiatrists in Israel. The findings should be taken into consideration by psychiatrists who design the residency program and by policy makers who are in charge of the mental health reform in Israel, or the psychotherapy usage and therapeutic potential may diminish, as has happened in other countries.