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Mental Health Services: Young People

Answer

Data on average waiting times for young people to obtain mental health support services, bereavement counselling and individual counselling services in the North East are not collected centrally.Counselling is one of the modalities of psychological intervention approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) for treating depression and anxiety disorders. Other NICE approved psychological therapies include guided self-help, computerised cognitive behavioural therapy, behavioural activation and exercise. The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Programme aims to help primary care trusts (PCTs) to implement NICE guidelines and improve access to psychological therapies in England for people with depression or anxiety disorders. This is supported by a significant national investment rising to £173 million by 2010-11. Its aim is to train 3,600 more therapists who will help to provide 900,000 more people with access to psychological therapies by 2010-11.In addition, 11 pathfinder PCTs are now examining the needs of specific groups, including children and young people, new mothers, older people, black and minority ethnic groups, offenders, people with long-term conditions and those with medically unexplained symptoms, and to see how access to a range of therapies for these groups could be further improved.For more general information on the Government's plans to improve services for young people who require mental health support, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow) on 16 December 2008, Official Report, column 683W, for details of the Government's response to the recently published independent Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Review.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

487 c2181W; 255312

Session

2008-09

Subjects

Counselling Young people North East

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk