Charities welcome talking therapy expansion but call for urgent extra investment
10 May 2007
Mental Health Foundation, Mind, Rethink, The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, Young Minds
The five charities behind the We Need to Talk campaign today welcomed Patricia Hewitt’s speech on psychological therapies but called for more investment in making effective therapies available nationwide.
Speaking in London, the Secretary of State for Health announced that ten more sites would join Newham and Doncaster in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme and that people of all ages would be able to benefit from the scheme.
The five charities are calling for psychological therapies to be available on the NHS to all those who could benefit from them. Waiting times should be measured and primary care trusts held accountable for reducing them.
This requires a step change in how much money is invested in psychological therapy. Research published just last month* shows wide variations in the number of therapists who are available to the NHS. We need to act now to fill those gaps and make equal access to proven treatments possible for everyone.
Paul Corry, Rethink's Director of Public Affairs, said: "We know that nationwide investment in talking therapies could make a huge difference to the lives of people with severe mental illness. There is now a clear economic and health case for such an approach. Yet for too many of Rethink's members and supporters, CBT stands not for cognitive behaviour therapy but 'can't bloomin' geddit'.
"We need sustained, national investment in talking therapies to give people with severe mental illness the best chance of recovering a good quality of life."
Mind Chief Executive Paul Farmer said: "People still wait years for access to talking treatments, yet for years NICE has recommended them as a frontline treatment for depression. Investing more money in alternative treatments will lead to long-term savings, giving people the best chance of recovery to lead full lives in society. This is a welcome further move, but provision must be stepped up nationwide."
Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health chief executive Angela Greatley said: "Working people need speedy access to effective therapy when they are off sick with depression or anxiety. Leaving it until they have lost contact with their workplace is leaving it too late and forces too many people out of their jobs. We can prevent thousands of people being excluded from work if we invest in the support they and their employers need."
Barbara Herts, Chief Executive of YoungMinds, said: "Depression in children and young people is an illness which is not always recognised but causes them great misery, impacting on their ability to function, to make and keep friends and stay in education. Psychological therapies can be of enormous help when given by practitioners who understand the developmental needs of children and the role of their families and carers in the process.
"Children and young people need expert help in an environment which is acceptable rather than stigmatising and we look forward to such services being resourced so that every child who needs psychological therapies gets help quickly."
Dr Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said: "Psychological therapies are vital options which should be offered to people experiencing distress. As a matter of priority, these need to be available to people who traditionally have been even less likely to receive them, including children and young people, and older people. Providing them with the range of therapies they need, at the time they need them, helps prevent problems in the future and means they can make the most of their opportunities in life. We hope the Government will expand provision as soon as possible to ensure psychological therapies are available to everyone who could benefit from them."
*An analysis of the psychological therapy workforce published by Durham University last month concluded that significant investment would be needed to offer equitable access to qualified therapists across the country.
You can download this press release here (Word document - 31 KB)
We Need To Talk is a collaboration between five mental health organisations: Mental Health Foundation, Mind, Rethink, The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, Young Minds and published by the Mental Health Foundation.
The We Need to Talk campaign is kindly supported by the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust.