Workforce
The NHS Talking Therapies programme funds clinicians to provide a range of talking therapies for people with depression and anxiety. Treatments follow NICE guidelines and are matched to each person’s needs.
In 2023 HM Treasury provided additional funding to expand NHS Talking Therapies to help more people recover by providing more courses of treatment and increasing the number of sessions individuals receive.
The NHS 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance provides a further framework to ensure delivery, at the local level, with ring-fenced funding available to support the delivery of effective courses of treatment within NHS Talking Therapies.
The plans set out in the 2023 Autumn Statement announcement will see services expand to provide courses of therapy to a total of 915,000 people per year by 2028/29.
The NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression national workforce census: 1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024 produced jointly by NHS England and NHS Benchmarking Network, offers the most comprehensive, up-to-date view of the size, shape and capacity of the NHS Talking Therapies workforce in England.
The results are being used to develop and improve the future of NHS Talking Therapies.
Early stage mental health support
Qualified Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) offer short-term, structured support for people with mild to moderate depression and anxiety. This includes guided self-help and other talking therapies based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). PWP training courses are accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). All PWPs in NHS Talking Therapies must be registered with either the .
Specialist therapies
Specialist therapists deliver a range of evidence-based talking therapies for people with depression and other mental health issues. . They are trained in specific types of therapy and must hold the relevant qualifications and professional accreditation as detailed in the NHS Talking Therapies Manual.
Specialist therapies include:
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – helping people with moderate to severe depression and anxiety disorders. CBT high intensity therapy courses are accredited by the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies
- Counselling for depression – helping people with depression. Courses are accredited by British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
- Couple therapy for depression – helping people with their relationship and any associated emotional difficulties. Courses accredited by British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies
- Brief Dynamic Interpersonal therapy (DIT) – a form of brief psychodynamic psychotherapy developed for treating depression, helping people with emotional and relationship problems. Courses accredited by British Psychoanalytic Council
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy for depression (IPT) – ) is time-limited and structured. Its central idea is that psychological symptoms, such as depressed mood, can be understood as a response to current difficulties in relationships.. Courses accredited by Interpersonal Psychotherapy Network UK
- Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) – EMDR is a psychotherapy model that has been developed to help people who have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). People who have PTSD may experience intrusive thoughts, memories, nightmares, or flashbacks of traumatic events in their past. EMDR helps to reprocess and reduce the physical feelings associated with memories of the traumatic events. so the negative images, emotions, and physical feelings they cause reduce, leading to a change of perspective and focus on the present and future. Courses are accredited by the EMDR Association UK
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) – MBCT combines mindfulness meditation techniques with cognitive therapy, which is about learning how to manage your thoughts and how they make you feel. It is a treatment for less severe depression and is also particularly helpful for preventing relapse in people with a history of recurrent depression. Courses are accredited by the British Association of Mindfulness Based Approaches (BAMBA).