Extended use of computerised therapy could increase NHS capacity by 25 per cent

City University London researchers have found that computer-aided therapy at mental health treatment centres can cut NHS waiting times.

Researchers from the School of Social Sciences at City University London have conducted research into the use of computer-aided therapy at mental health treatment centres and found that it can cut NHS waiting times for anxiety and depression treatment by as much as 25 per cent.


The research team assessed the impact of computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (CCBT) in an NHS cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) specialist centre using Beating the Blues (BtB) - the interactive multimedia CBT programme recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (2006) as an important treatment choice for mild to moderate levels of depression in primary care.

 

Working with the NHS’s Chelmsford and Essex Centre, the researchers collected data for 60 months, assessing 555 service users waiting for treatment between May 2001 and April 2006.

After completing all eight sessions of Beating the Blues:

 

• 64 per cent of service users were successfully discharged
• 18 per cent were referred on for face-to-face CBT
• 1.5 per cent went for group therapy
• 1.8 per cent were referred on to Community Mental Health Services (CMHT).

 

Of the 18 per cent referred on for face-to-face treatment, the average number of sessions required before service users were successfully discharged was 3.7; reducing the total number of combined computerised and face-to-face sessions to 11.7 from the standard 15 face-to-face sessions.

 

Between 2000 and 2006 the Chelmsford and Essex CBT specialist centre saw a 50% increase in referrals. By using the BtB as an integral part of the specialist service treatment pathway, the service managed to maintain waiting times despite this increase; increasing the capacity of the Centre by the equivalent of 1.1 of a CBT nurse.

 

Lead researcher on the project, Despina Learmonth of City University London, says:

“This research provides compelling evidence that the extension of a computerised therapeutic intervention, such as Beating the Blues, could be of significant value to service users in secondary/tertiary mental health centres, alleviating current burdens on public health and therapeutic resources. The Beating the Blues programmes should never replace the mental health practitioner, however, in the case of common mental health problems it can offer rapid access and clinically significant benefit as a supported self-help intervention.”

 

According to the Psychiatric Morbidity Survey Report (2000) there are some six million people suffering from depression or anxiety disorders, or both. That is almost one in six of the UK adult population. At the same time a shortage of trained therapists has led to waiting lists for treatment stretching to over nine months long; in some areas there are simply no therapists available at all.

Computerised cognitive behavioural therapy dramatically reduces the need for human therapists with interactive computer packages that enable service users to self administer CBT with minimal therapist support. This method of treatment is currently only recommended for use in primary care practices.



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Date of Article:  18/09/2007