A letter from RANZCP members: Prof Philip Morris AM, Dr Vivienne Elton OAM and Dr Melinda Hill

We note that ANZJP has published an editorial (1) criticising the College-commissioned Anna Freud Centre (AFC) review report regarding the evidence base for the effectiveness of LTPP for mood disorders.

The editorial, titled ‘Concerns over the process and outcomes of the review by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists into long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy’, refers to AFC review report content.

The review report has not been published in any journal or public forum. It has been released by the College to the RANZCP membership for private viewing only and is currently withheld from public release, on agreement with AFC, while peer review publication processes occur.

The publication by our College academic journal of an article that is open to the wider professional public, and which is critical of another piece of work that is held in confidence from public scrutiny raises several concerns:

• Non-College members reading the article critical of the AFC review report have no ability to assess whether the criticisms of the editorial authors are valid, fair or relevant, because the readers cannot access the source report.
• College members are not able to reference the review report content when responding to the editorial because it would breach the confidentiality requirement placed on members and would be disrespectful of peer review publication processes. 

We ask how the ANZJP can justify publishing a critical article like 'Concerns over the process and outcomes of the review by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists into long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy’ without making available the full Anna Freud Centre review report to readers? 

This action of the ANZJP raises questions about fairness and due process.  

We seek a formal response from the President and Board as to what actions it intends to take, both within the College and publicly, regarding this unsatisfactory situation?

College response, RANZCP President, Dr Elizabeth Moore

Thank you for raising the issue of the editorial published in the ANZJP in January by Prof Steve Kisely (Editor, ANZJP) and Prof Gin Malhi (Lead author, Mood Disorders Clinical Practice Guideline) regarding the process and outcomes of the College’s Mood Disorders Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Evidence Review.

The Board agrees that respectful academic debate is appropriate, and we acknowledge the matters you raise. We have written to Prof Kisely to highlight our concerns about publishing a public commentary on the review which was marked as confidential. A public statement has also been issued reminding members about the confidential nature of the report. 

The Anna Freud Centre, as authors of the report, have indicated that they will independently be submitting a response to the editorial. Individual members are also welcome to respond directly to the ANZJP Editor. 

On 16 January 2025, the College published a summary of the findings of the review which is publicly available on our website via our Mood Disorders Hub. This includes Frequently Asked Questions that confirm the Board’s view that members should use the report as a useful resource to inform the use of long term psychodynamic psychotherapy in clinical practice. 

Kind regards,

Dr Elizabeth Moore
President