Given a choice, three out of every four people would prefer a form of psychotherapy (talking therapy), rather than a drug prescription for their mental health issues.
Yet, the way the NHS has treated mental health has meant that too often people are left stranded on drugs rather than given the opportunity to work through their emotional or psychological difficulties with a qualified psychotherapy professional.
In Parliament last week, serious ideas to redress this imbalance were put before government.
Both the current and previous government embraced therapy through the Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. This has made a good start, but the current IAPT services are very restricted, and not a comprehensive addressing of the psychological needs of the nation. CBT is great but doesn’t work well for some people, and for some types of problems.
The debate was notable for the willingness of MPs of all parties to challenge the government to deliver a step change in commitment on mental health.
We need to see greatly improved choice of types of therapy available, the protection and expansion of funding for both IAPT and non-IAPT services and a commitment to work with NICE to ensure a greater range of high-quality therapies can be made available in the NHS.
The debate was another positive step forward. Psychotherapy professionals, patient groups and most importantly, the public, now need to see real commitments from all parties to make parity of esteem for mental health a reality. That means politicians committed to providing more therapy services, not more pills.
- David Pink, Chief Executive, UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
Mental illness is one of the biggest health challenges that we face over the next 20 or 30 years, accounting for about 28% of morbidity and 23% of all GP appointments, with recent estimates showing that mental illness is costing Britain about £105 billion a year.
Those are the raw statistics, but behind them is a story of broken lives, isolation and mental suffering. Every week in my constituency, I see people suffering from a range of difficult mental health conditions. I called for the debate last week because as a compassionate society we have a duty to address the growing crisis of mental health in Britain, not only by seeking to control its symptoms, but by tackling its underlying causes.
I believe that for too long our approach to mental health has been dominated by what I characterise as a medicalised model and not enough focus has been on talking therapies, which are a human and compassionate response to mental suffering, as our constituents, our fellow citizens, and we all come to terms with the pressures of modern life, the increase in family breakdown, and the sheer stresses of dealing with information overload and the complexity of living in the modern world.
One of the central issues is the almost-exclusive use of cognitive behavioural therapy – CBT. In many circumstances, for patients with particular forms of anxiety and depression, CBT is an appropriate form of treatment. However, it is a short-term, highly manualised approach to mental health treatment and we have a duty to explore other forms of psychological treatment that may be better suited to the individual.
This ongoing debate is about more than the right policies; it is important because we must address the anguish and suffering of our fellow citizens whose voices desperately need to be heard and whose stories are often the key to their cure.
- James Morris, Conservative MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis
Labour will give patients guaranteed access to psychological therapies
Our NHS is experiencing a crisis in A&E. Now patients are facing a crisis in mental health care too.
Only last week we learnt that more than 1,700 mental health beds have been closed over the last two-and-a-half years. That’s 9% of beds that no longer exist. Many NHS trusts are bursting to capacity and are being forced to turn vulnerable patients away.
It’s therefore all the more vital that people are able to receive early treatment for mental health conditions long before they need to be admitted to hospital.
That’s why the last Labour Government launched the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme, making evidence-based ‘talking therapies’ available to more people than ever before.
While it is welcome that the Tory-led Government have continued the programme, they have cut mental health spending in real terms for the second year in a row.
It’s therefore unsurprising that people are having to wait too long for treatment for anxiety and depression.
One in five people have to wait more than a year to receive treatment, according to research by mental health charities.
And as well as how long it takes to receive treatment, there needs to be a broader range of therapies available in the first place.
Funding for non-IAPT therapies has been slashed by 5% - despite promises from ministers that IAPT funding would not replace existing psychotherapy services.
Above all, there needs to be genuine parity of esteem between mental and physical health.
Labour has pledged to rewrite the NHS Constitution to give people the right to talking therapies for mental illness – just as they already have the right to drugs and treatments for physical illness.
Our vision for a national health and care service will have mental health at its heart, not relegated to the fringes.
- Luciana Berger, Shadow Minister for Public Health