Out-of-hours therapy popular in Norfolk

In parts of rural Norfolk it can be difficult to get to appointments, especially if you have to rely on public transport or don't want to take time off from work or college.  This has made the flexibility offered by PsychologyOnline to have therapy from home very popular.

Results from the successful pilot of PsychologyOnline, which uses text-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), revealed over 50% of appointments were outside of normal 9-5 office hours; with the most popular time being 7-9pm.

Patrick Wymbs, clinical service lead for central Norfolk’s Wellbeing Service, explained that improving access to therapy was one of the reasons why the new treatment has been introduced.

He said: “If you are working or have young children, taking time out during the busy day can  be awkward.

“The internet is an integral part of people’s lives and we believe that offering online therapy is an important part of the future. Including PsychologyOnline in our portfolio of services offers clients greater choice and flexibility in accessing support.”

PsychologyOnline uses instant messaging to support one-on-one therapy with an experienced psychotherapist. The client doesn’t need to meet the therapist so the sessions can be taken at home or other convenient place where there is access to the internet using a mobile phone or computer.

The data shows that people of all ages are happy to access therapy in this way; one in ten of the clients were over 55 years of age. Recovery rates were also above that expected achieving higher clinical recovery rates than the national average for face-to-face therapy.

Kate Tilbury, therapist team leader at PsychologyOnline, explained that once a person chooses the online service they are given consistent care with the same therapist.

“In Norfolk we are treating people with a range of conditions such as anxiety and depression at varying degrees of severity,” she said.

 “Our therapists are trained to the highest level which means that once the client has developed trust and begun to make progress they stay with that therapist.

“CBT works by changing the way we think and feel about problems. The process of answering questions through writing is very effective for retraining the brain. Using text also allows people to be more honest about their feelings. This helps the therapist to work with them on the real issues they are facing and brings about a quicker and more sustained recovery.”

Patients in the Norfolk pilot needed on average six sessions to achieve a recovery, 40% fewer sessions than would be expected from traditional face-to-face talking therapy.

Patrick added: “The Wellbeing Service aims to support people in making changes in their lives, to manage levels of stress as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression. With PsychologyOnline, no one else needs to know that the client is having therapy so it overcomes the embarrassment that some people still experience with mental health.”

The Wellbeing Service is free and open to anyone aged 16 years and over in Norfolk and Waveney. People can be referred by their GP or can self-refer online by visiting www.readytochange.org.uk or telephoning 0300 123 1503.

PsychologyOnline named Top Innovation

PsychologyOnline has been recognised for its innovation in healthcare which is making therapy for depression and anxiety more effective, more accessible and more widely available.

PsychologyOnline was named as one of the top five innovations in Cambridge at a ceremony hosted by the Cambridge News.

The judges panel, composed of leading local and worldwide figures, described the service as one of the best products developed within the city in the last 12 months.

CEO Barnaby Perks was delighted to receive such an endorsement.  He said:

“Cambridge is known of its technology and for its excellence in healthcare, we are honoured that against this track record our innovation has been recognised.

“We are involved in some exciting research collaborations so the innovation will continue, supported by a strong evidence-base gained from our NHS contracts. “

“We have reached market at the right time, as strategically the NHS is moving towards the promotion of wellbeing on a parity with treatment of physical conditions. As a result we are seeing increasing demand for our service as it helps commissioning groups to exceed their objectives.”

“For those struggling with depression or anxiety, online access to an experienced therapist provides an effective and highly confidential service and that is what we have strived to achieve.”

PsychologyOnline provides one-on-one therapy with an experienced psychotherapist via instant messaging.  The therapy is within a secure online environment and the user only requires a mobile phone, tablet or computer with internet connection to gain access so does not need to leave the home to gain support.  This also allows appointments to be made 24/7.

Chief medical officer: Make mental health bigger priority

Mental health needs to be more of a priority, with targets for waiting times and more protection for funding, says England's chief medical officer.

Dame Sally Davies said there were signs funding was being cut at a time when the cost to the economy was rising.

Her annual report said mental illness led to the loss of 70 million working days last year - up 24% since 2009.

As well as calling for greater emphasis on mental illness in the NHS, she also said employers could play a role too.

She recommended they allowed people with mental health problems the option of flexible working to keep them in employment and maintaining regular contact during sickness leave.

Overall, mental illness costs the economy between £70bn and £100bn in lost productivity, benefit payments and absence from work.

In terms of NHS spending, it accounts for 13% of the budget despite causing 28% of illness.

Dame Sally said there were signs spending in real terms had been cut since 2011 - and called for this disinvestment to stop.

On top of that, she said, access to services needed to improve as three-quarters of people with a mental illness did not receive treatment.

She suggested targets for waiting times - as have been introduced in other areas of the health service such as A&E units and for routine surgery - could make a difference.

Young people in particular needed better access to support, she said, as half of adults with mental health problems develop them before the age of 15 and three-quarters by 18.

Dame Sally said the costs were "astounding" and NHS bosses needed to treat mental health "more like physical health".

"Anyone with mental illness deserves good quality support at the right time," she said.

"Underinvestment in mental health services, particularly for young people, simply does not make sense economically."

She told the BBC she was particularly concerned about those whose mental health affected their ability to work.

"One in four adults suffers some form of mental ill-health all of the time," she said.

"But what I'm concerned about is how do we support people with mental ill-health who fall out of work.

"How do we prevent them falling out of work and how do we get them back into the workforce because this is costing us a lot in upset for those people and their families as well as our economy,"

She went on to say that employers can make a significant difference to the health of their staff.

"They can make it by actually talking about it, knowing how their people are, whether they have ill health, supporting them by giving them flexible working if they need it, by reducing stigma."

Dame Sally also said that if an employee went sick, an employer could call them up "sensitively and talk to them, you can help them get back to work earlier".

It comes after a number of reports have highlighted how mental health services are being squeezed.

In January Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg described mental health as the "poor cousin" in the health service.

Laura May, who has a borderline personality disorder, told the BBC that having an understanding employer is the most important factor for her."My NHS care, while it is very good, is not the reason I work well. The reason I work well is because of my employer who supports me.

"If I am particularly unwell, crisis care is very important for me because it will get me back to work very, very quickly. I think crisis care in England is not particularly good, so that is definitely an area that could be improved."

Andy Bell, deputy chief executive of the Centre for Mental Health, said: "Better, faster and earlier help for mental health is vital to improve people's lives and represents excellent value for money.

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb said the CMO's recommendations would be "considered carefully", adding attempts were being made to make mental health more of a priority, including the possibility of introducing targets.

"I want to build a fairer society where mental health is treated with the same importance as physical health," he said.

Article originally published here. Written by Nick Triggle, Health correspondent, BBC News

East Riding selects PsychologyOnline to improve access to 'talking therapies'

The East Riding Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has just announced that it has begun offering PsychologyOnline within its new portfolio of ‘talking therapies'. The move is to provide patients with better access to therapy and more choice of treatment.

Dr Gina Palumbo, chair of the East Riding CCG said: “We recognise how important it is for people in distress to gain swift access to specialist support and we have been working hard for some time to increase local availability and improve access.

“We are confident that these new services and wide range of providers will help to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in the East Riding.

“They will also help us meet our commitment to supporting vulnerable people with mental health issues to remain healthy and independent.”

Talking therapy services are aimed at supporting people who have moderate depression, stress or anxiety. Patients are referred by their GP and after an assessment will be offered a choice of treatment, which includes text-based cognitive behavioural therapy with PsychologyOnline.

With PsychologyOnline it is possible to have therapy with an experienced psychotherapist using instant messaging, so there is no requirement to make an appointment to meet the therapist face-to-face. Therapy sessions can be arranged at a time to suit the patient, including evenings and weekends, and all that is required is a mobile phone, tablet or computer and an internet connection.

PsychologyOnline is particularly beneficial for patients who find leaving the home difficult, for those who are working and don’t want to take time off work, or for those who don’t wish for others to know they are having therapy.

The treatment is also very effective. Barnaby Perks, chief executive of PsychologyOnline, comments that in clinical trials, the benefits of text-based CBT were found to be sustained:

“CBT works by changing the way we think and feel about problems. The process of answering questions through writing is very effective for retraining the brain.

“Research has shown that patients using text-based CBT are more honest about their feelings, which helps a quicker and more sustained recovery. As a result we have had recovery rates of more than 60% within 40% fewer sessions than would be expected from traditional face-to-face talking therapy.”

Patients in the East Riding who are already on the waiting list are being prioritised for treatment.
For those in other parts of the country who are unable to access text-based therapy on the NHS, PsychologyOnline offers its Thinkwell service which does not require a GP referral.