It has recently been announced that the Mood, Anxiety and Personality Clinical Academic Group (MAP CAG) have proposed cuts to the psychotherapy service across the Trust. This would result in:

- 40% cut in the number of Consultant Medical Psychotherapists in the Maudsley psychotherapy department (covering South Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham)
- 75% reduction in the number of Consultant Medical Psychotherapists in St Thomas’s (covering North Lambeth)
- 45% reduction in therapy sessions across SLaM

This will clearly have a huge impact on patient care but will also have significant implications to our already stretched psychotherapy training.

There are real concerns that what remains of the Psychotherapy Department will no longer be able to provide sufficient high quality training. More supervision of psychodynamic cases will be carried out by junior and non-medical therapists. Furthermore the Case-Based Discussion groups will further increase in size and be supervised by non-medical staff. It is a Royal College of Psychiatrists guideline that these groups are supervised by a Consultant Medical Psychotherapist.

The current Royal College requirements state that trainees must attend 30 CBD group sessions and undertake both a 12-month long case (usually psychodynamic) and a short case (usually CBT). The proposed structure does not have the capacity to provide the requisite training supervision.

The consultation deadline is Thursday 12th January. The petition will be presented to:
- Wendy Burn, Dean of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Michael Maier, Head of the School of Psychiatry, London Deanery
- Stuart Bell, Chief Executive of SLaM
- Martin Baggaley, Trust Medical Director
- Simon Wessely, Vice-Dean of Academic Psychiatry
- Jonathan Bindman, Clinical Director, MAP CAG
- Simon Rayner, Head of Pathway, MAP CAG
- John Moriarty, Training Programme Director

If you are concerned about these cuts and the implications to our training, please sign this petition and make your voice heard.

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