170m boost to mental health treatment announced

The health secretary Alan Johnson has announced an extra ?170 million to fund an expansion in psychological therapies to provide greater support to people with mental health problems.

With millions of people now suffering from some form of mental health problem, NICE guidelines have shown psychological therapy to work as effectively as drugs in tackling problems such as depression and anxiety.

Mr Johnson declared that the announcement signified the government’s commitment to mental health and the high recognition it gives to psychological therapy.

“Improving access to psychological therapies will give people with mental health problems a real choice of treatment, helping to reduce dependence on medication,” he said.

The government intends to roll out psychological therapies to twenty new areas next year and then increase services to cover the whole country over the next few years.

By 2010/11 ?170 million will be spent by the NHS on psychological therapies and will see 900,000 more people treated for depression and anxiety by 3,600 newly trained psychological therapists.

World Mental Health Day takes place each year on October 10th and sees a variety of events take place to raise awareness of mental health issues.