Why hasn't NHS IAPT utilised local trained counsellors to tackle the demand?

The NHS IAPT system (Improving access to psychological therapies) is designed to be cheap and relatively quick which has led to it being described as...

“the clinical equivalent to online dating”

says Dr Elizabeth Cotton, a former NHS psychotherapist who is studying working practices in mental health, she also says... 

“You are given 30 minutes to get to grips with complex and often hopeless situations, lie about what you can do and walk away from human tragedy without a care in the world.”

I think its terribly sad that people are not getting the care that they need, 

I was always taught that therapeutic counselling is supposed to be the long term cure and medication often the short term in many cases. People may well get a boost from the NHS IAPT system but seems not to be effective longterm.

A psychologist working in a London IAPT as a one-to-one therapist said: 

“More and more we are seeing a revolving door because people who weren’t getting what they need are coming back.”

CBT is aimed at being a short therapy, but changing cognitions may well take a little longer than the allocated 6 sessions for some.

Only about one in five people who undergo treatment enjoy a reliable recovery, according to NHS data, and about 40% of those who start courses drop out.

Several counsellors say that IAPT is a clumsy cure-all for complex and profound traumas, and that its tick-box approach to mental health problems can be “dangerous” and “distressing”.

“IAPT has been set up to apply CBT to first cases of anxiety and depression, but the cases coming through are far more complex. People have long histories of complex trauma. It is massively oversimplifying mental health.”

Says a psychologist working in a London IAPT as a one-to-one therapist

“We have heard cases of people waiting upwards of two years or more for specialist treatment. While we know CBT can be the right treatment for many people, it isn’t suitable for everyone.” 

Says Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, who also chairs the NHS mental health taskforce

Being a locally trained Therapeutic Counsellor struggling along trying to run my own private business I'll admit to feeling a little resentful, along with disgust, frustration and disappointment. Here I am ready to help people, I have the free hours and the training available to help but I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs along with most of my colleagues.

Are all these people genuinely unaware that they can be seen privately at affordable prices and don't have to wait? or is it that all these thousands of people really can't afford it and have no choice but to wait.

If the latter is the case, the answer seems obvious to me that NHS IAPT should source locally trained counsellors to help with their long waiting lists. Through them the government would be helping small businesses and lets face it, 

"lives could be saved... 

it's as serious and as simple as that!"

Contact Sam at Therapy for Life if you are struggling to cope or are still waiting for help

source: Robert booth for The Guardian

Parents who feel helpless... the best thing you could do for your child is this

Are you struggling to connect with your child?

Are emotions high, arguments constant, behaviour bad?

Do they seem quiet and shy or constantly getting into trouble?

If you are worried and they are not talking to you, you probably feel helpless.

The one certain way you can help your child is through counselling.

We at Therapy for Life have counsellors on board that have huge experience working with children from all backgrounds.

As a parent we feel our child’s pain, but thinking you are unable to help is incorrect. Let your child form a trusting bond with a therapist so they can release everything

that is bothering them.

“Sometimes kids don’t want to tell us parents all their ‘stuff’ for fear of hurting us or being disciplined.” 

Sam Director at Therapy for Life 

Take a massive step towards doing one of the best things you could ever do for your child. You know you’re a good parent when you never stop trying to help them.

“We don’t judge or criticise your parenting, we know how tough it is."

We are a big solution for a child that needs somewhere to talk and release their worries and pain.

You will notice how much better your child feels after the first session. Please call us, and you’ll be taking one of the most caring and beneficial actions for your child’s wellbeing.

Please contact Sam at Therapy for Life, you will be very welcomed by our friendly therapists, you will be seen quickly, and see how easy and laid back it all is for you.

4 Page Website Design offer for all the 'technophobes' out there

You will be guided step by step, and have ongoing help.

It involves a low regular cost to maintain your domain, everyone has to pay this to keep their website domain on the internet.

You pay for:

·      A Domain Name (generally every 2 years min but you can pay up to 10 years) - you will get a reminder from the company when it’s about to expire, this is normally a month beforehand.

·      The Web Hosting (every month) - It’s advised you set up a Direct debit/standing order

Domain names can cost from £7 - £25 depending on what you choose, Example 

(www.your_name.co.uk)

Website Hosting (assuming you want to use my server) is £3.99 per month includes a matching email address (your_name.co.uk) mailbox size 1GB

Setup fee by me for the above inclusive of the first months hosting is £25.00. You are responsible for the up keep of you domain subscription, if you do not, your domain will be unregistered and someone else could then buy the right to use it, this is very important as a business to make sure this doesn't happen. I will ensure you are setup to receive the reminder and know what to do.

If you do not wish to have your own domain, I can host a sudo domain for you called ‘www.essexcounsellingservices.co.uk/your_name.html’  

·      Positive: You don’t need to worry about paying for a domain name, just the monthly web hosting costs.

·      Negative: This sometimes doesn’t work very well.  It’s not advisable as it is not terribly efficient in search engines like Google. It normally confuses the front end user having to tap in EXACTLY the correct address, which is much longer and more complicated. This also would not have a matching email address for business contact.

Website Design

A four page website will cost around £400-£500, you supply all written content and images you want (I hold no responsibility for copyright or royalty breaches). I can advise you on this in the design process.

An example of a four-page menu would be:

About Me   -  Services  -  Fees   -   Contact 

It can be changed to whatever you like. It’s very flexible and depending on if you wanted an extra page with small content I will let you know if there will be a cost involved, in many cases this is not an issue and can I can just build this in for you.

Good Advice: Look at other websites to gain ideas of what you like, colours, fly-ins, feedback boxes etc...This will help me to help you.

I will do an initial first stage design hosted on my testing server for your approval then the final build will go ahead once you’re happy.

I will create all SEO (search engine optimisation) for you free within the website (this helps people to find you) but this is not going to guarantee you will be high on web search engines like Google.

If this is something you think you must have then I would advise you to contact Google themselves, and they can advise you on a SEO package. There are ways to build your presence on Google and other search engines; I can certainly give you some tips and links to read regarding this.

·      Any additional future changes to the site will cost £25 per hour. After you have described the changes needed, I’ll let you know how long it will take me (most things can be done within the hour).

If you are interested and want to make a start, I can send you the list of questions to start creating your own website. Remember, this is your creation, it’s an extension of you, clients always find it exciting to finally get themselves on the internet, and it’s so important to have a website when you are starting a business no matter how big or small. It’s the place prospective clients will read about YOU.

If you would like to see a few of the websites that I have created here are some examples:

www.therapyforlife.net      www.sigmastudies.co.uk   www.irst.co.uk

Extras

All of the Jpeg pictures of your new logo design will be sent to you automatically as part of the package. This will enable you to create business cards and leaflets etc.

If you would like me to organise these for you instead, I can give you a list of options and have them designed and delivered to you directly. This would vary in price, and I will give you a quote based on what you require.

If you feel brave enough though, websites like ‘Vistaprint’ are very helpful for beginners.

Mobile Version

Its often a good idea to have your website mobile friendly, to do this I have to design a separate working set of pages from the originals. I will create a mobile version which is vital for the modern website. Mobile contact is becoming more and more popular as the first point of contact for people.

If you would like this option it will cost only an extra            £50

Summary of the costs you need to think about:

Setup                                                              £  25.00

Monthly  ‘Web hosting’                              £    3.99

2 yearly   ‘Domain Name’                           £    7.00 - £25.00 (depending on choice)

4 Page Website                                            £400.00

Changes/alterations in future by Neil      £  25.00 (per hour)

Mobile Friendly                                            £  50.00

Business Cards/leaflets                              POA

I am happy to discuss any options and ways for you to pay.

This can all be very confusing for people who don’t understand how this works, rest assured I will help you every step of the way and I encourage you to contact me with questions and worries during the process.

Neil Ashdown

07713 149340

ndashdown@googlemail.com