In the last edition of the B.A.B.P. Bulletin Dr. Marks took up the issue of the future structure and organisation of the B.A.B.P., inviting comments on his article thus allowing ‘ideas to be crystallised into practical suggestions for the A.G.M.’ The following represents the personal views of some of the branch representatives to add to the ongoing debate.

The most important role of theoretical models available in psychiatry and psychology is to enable the therapist to “understand” the patient and take therapeutic action on the basis of this understanding. These models determine the nature of the interview, collection of data, conceptualisation of the data and therapeutic strategies to achieve specific goals. The types of knowledge provided by these models can be categorised along a continuum ranging from very subjective to that fulfilling scientific requirements.

Some difficulties in measuring obsessional illness are described. Measurement techniques used in previous behavioural or drug treatment trials are reviewed.

A group of medical students were randomly selected from a larger group to carry out behaviour therapy under supervision. Ten patients with phobic disorders and two with obsessive-compulsive neurosis were treated, and the results, assessed by ratings of proved reliability, compared favourably with other studies in which psychiatrists or nurses acted as therapists. A questionnaire survey showed that students involved in therapy had a more favourable opinion about this kind of treatment than those receiving only theoretical instruction. The results suggested not only that medical students make good behavioural psychotherapists but also that the subject is a worthwhile training experience which warrants inclusion in the curriculum.

Cognitive behaviour modification incorporates procedures aimed at changing clients feelings and actions by modifying what they say to themselves, or think. It is assumed that such self-statements determine, to some extent, emotion and behaviour. The experiments reported sought to examine this assumption in depression, i.e., to what extent do patients feel depressed because they think depressing thoughts? Beck's cognitive theory of depression suggests disordered thinking is the primary cause of depression.