Psychotherapeutic practices in France : results of a professional-based health insurance participant survey

Introduction. Today in France, little empirical data on the use of psychotherapy is available. This paper presents an empirical study of psychotherapeutic practices, from the patient's point of view. We will present results regarding frequency of psychotherapies, patients' characteristics, associations between different kinds of therapy, where they take place, and the reasons given for beginning psychotherapy. Methodology. Data is based on a general and mental health survey conducted by MGEN(1) foundation among 6 500 persons, as well as on general population data collected by the BVA survey institute. Results. Depending on the population studied, between 5 to 11.5 % of people have had psychotherapy sessions at least once in their lifetime. Women born at the beginning of the sixties and men born at the beginning of the fifties are those who consulted the most. The vast majority of these psychotherapies are individual, in private practice. They often last more than one year, with a frequency of once per week or more. Thirty percent declare that they have undergone several psychotherapies. The reasons for consultation reported by users are mainly depression or anxiety. There are significant differences between genders for the reasons for consultation, women being concerned by depression, problems with sleep and food, and men being concerned by obsessive thoughts and addiction (alcohol, tobacco). People undergoing psychotherapy give an average of 2.5 reasons for this psychotherapy, and only 28 % gave only one reason. A relationship exists between the number of consecutive treatments and the number of reasons given for undergoing psychotherapy. More than 25 % of the psychotherapies last less than 6 months. "Intensive psychotherapy" (at least 6 months and a frequency of 2 to 3 times per month) concern 5.9 % of the whole population studied, and represent 51.4 % of all psychotherapies. People are quite satisfied by their psychotherapy; 90 % are satisfied with the results and 60 % believe that their condition has been much improved in a durable manner. 16.6 % were unsatisfied with the results. There is (in women only) an association between satisfaction and intensity of treatment; satisfaction is lower in those women undergoing intensive psychotherapy; 77.7 % of users have also used some sort of drugs for the problem (80.6 % of women and 69.9 % of men) with psychotropic drugs most frequently used: 70.8 % of the psychotherapy users had taken such drugs for their problem (women 72.9 %, men 65.4 %). Conclusion. In France, psychotherapies are playing an important role and it is necessary to study these techniques better in order to give them the place they deserve in the French mental health policy.