More than 100,000 people will benefit from a new wave of talking therapy services going live across the country from today, World Mental Health Day, Care Services Minister Phil Hope has announced.

The 52 new sites will help people with depression and anxiety disorders access NICE approved treatments including cognitive behavioural therapies, counselling and guided self-help.

The 52 new sites going live between World Mental Health Day and March 2010 join 35 sites launched in 2008 and a further 28 that went live earlier this year. This is part of £103 million being spent by the Department of Health on making a total of 115 services available by March next year.

Care Services Minister Phil Hope said:

"From World Mental Health Day, 52 new talking therapy services will go live, helping thousands more people recover from debilitating anxiety disorders.

"The talking therapy services that are already up and running have been very successful, with 73,000 people entering treatment and 1,500 more therapists being employed under the scheme. I look forward to seeing the programme go from strength to strength in the future."

One in four people suffer from a mental health problem at any one time and mental ill health costs the economy over £77 billion a year, according to estimates. The Government is developing a new strategy for mental health for the coming years called New Horizons, currently out for consultation.

Care Services Minister Phil Hope continued:

"World Mental Health Day will raise awareness and help break down the stigma that all too often surrounds mental health problems. But I want to go a step further and prevent people developing mental health problems in the first place.

"Our New Horizons strategy aims to create more mentally healthy communities as well as continuing the improvements in services we've seen in recent years. I want as many people as possible to have their say on the best way to achieve this. "

The 52 new sites are Wakefield, Great Yarmouth & Waveney, Peterborough, Derby City, Derby County, Leicester City, Leicester County & Rutland, Northamptonshire, Nottingham County, Islington, Lambeth, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Greenwich, Hammersmith & Fulham, Wandsworth, Sutton & Merton, Westminster, Bolton, Liverpool, Stockport, Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale, North Lancashire, Cumbria, Bury, Trafford, Tameside & Glossop, Ashton, Wigan & Leigh, Surrey, Southampton, Portsmouth, Devon, Gloucester, Plymouth, Somerset, South Gloucester, Torbay Care Trust, Wiltshire, Birmingham East & North, South Birmingham, Heart of Birmingham, Telford & Wrekin, Coventry, Warwickshire, Solihull, Rotherham, North Yorkshire & York, Hampshire, Gateshead, Northumberland, Luton

Source
Department of Health, UK