News release · Thursday 1 March 2007
wpf Counselling and Psychotherapy

By Lesley Murdin and Lesley Warner              

wpf Counselling and Psychotherapy funded to expand CBT provision

With a grant of £125,704 from the Department of Health, wpf Counselling and Psychotherapy will set up and develop up to ten centres in England to improve access to psychological therapies including CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy).
The programme follows the publication of the Layard Report which recommended that 10,000 additional trained CBT practitioners were needed in order to work with those with recurring depression or anxiety who are disabled by their symptoms.
The CBT programme will build on the charity’s existing four month training course in CBT skills for qualified psychodynamic counsellors and psychotherapists. The current course trains 24 qualified counsellors and psychotherapists in CBT per intake.
The grant will enable wpf Counselling and Psychotherapy to additionally train therapists in supervision skills to support CBT counsellors and to develop partnerships with voluntary organisations working with Black and Minority Ethnic communities in order to improve access to psychological therapies. wpf Counselling and Psychotherapy also plans to work through primary care trusts.

Lesley Murdin, wpf Counselling and Psychotherapy director, said:
“There is an urgent need for more well-trained and qualified therapists. But we must ensure that the emphasis is on the quality of therapy and safety for those experiencing distress. As few as twelve weekly sessions can have a profound effect on somebody’s future. By training practitioners who are already qualified psychodynamic counsellors and psychotherapists we are widening the options open to clients and ensuring that they will be seen by an experienced professional. And by working with community groups we will ensure that therapy is truly accessible.”

wpf Counselling and Psychotherapy provides high quality therapy tailored to each individual as well as training for counsellors and psychotherapists with a wide range of accredited training programmes. In addition to its offices and training department in Kensington, wpf Counselling and Psychotherapy works with a network of 30 centres across England and is the largest charitable provider of counselling and psychotherapy in England.

Ends

Media enquiries:
Lesley Warner
wpf Counselling & Psychotherapy
Tel: 020 7361 4827  Mobile: 07906 813694
e: lesley.warner@wpf.org.uk    

Notes to editors:
The Layard report quotes the Psychiatric Morbidity Survey finding that 6 million people are suffering from depression or anxiety disorders or both – almost one in six of the adult population. The report calculates the total loss of output due to depression and chronic anxiety disorders as £12 billion, with a cost of £7 billion to the tax payer.

Cognitive behavioural therapy is a structured brief therapy delivered in one to one sessions with a trained practitioner, usually over a period of 12-16 weeks. It is recommended by NICE, together with other therapies for certain conditions. CBT can help people to change how they think and act. Unlike some of the other talking treatments, it focuses on the "here and now" problems and difficulties. Instead of focussing on the causes of distress or symptoms in the past, it looks for ways to improve your state of mind now.