Health Secretary Alan Johnson today unveiled plans for a major new programme to train an extra 3,600 Psychological Therapists.
The ?170 million ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies’ programme is designed to help transform the lives of thousands of people with depression and anxiety disorders by offering them access to Cognitive Behavioural Therapies.
The programme will train up a new workforce of therapists to deliver high and low intensity therapy to people with wide-ranging conditions.
The financial investment will mean greatly improved access to psychological therapy and there are hopes that 900,000 more people will be treated for depression and anxiety over the next three years.
Health Minister, Ivan Lewis said: “For many people, prescribing medication is a successful treatment but psychological therapies have proved to be as effective as drugs in tackling these common mental health problems and are often more effective in the longer term.
“Today’s guidance is another step towards giving people with mental health problems a real choice of treatment, helping to reduce dependence on medication.”
The programme hopes to have a knock-on effect on the workforce, with 25,000 fewer people with mental health problems on sick pay and benefits.
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