Let me preface this by telling you why I am writing this. Jamie is studying a course at the OU at the moment. It is a psychology course. Her first TMA is to read 2 articles and discuss them. She read bits from the article to me and then I had to get the link to read it. I didn’t really believe some of it so had to see what the rest of it entailed.
Anyway, I got it and read it and am really quite disgusted by the article itself. It is Nick Clegg talking about mental illness and how it will have ringfenced funding. He talks about how more people will have access to services such as CBT.
Under plans to be outlined by the Government an extra 1.2 million people will be eligible for ‘talking’ therapies on the NHS over the next four years. Talking therapies include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) which doctors believe is as effective as taking anti-depressants at combating some types of mental illness. – Nick Clegg
Don’t even get me started on CBT. It is the biggest con going. My experiences of CBT were total rubbish.
CBT works by trying to identify the underlying causes of depression through either individual or group therapy and breaking them down into smaller parts which can be addressed. – Nick Clegg
They didn’t touch on the underlying causes of my mental illness. It was a process of working from that point forward. How can my thinking be changed if I can’t get help to figure out the underlying causes of depression. CBT was offered on the understanding that it was only 6 sessions and that it was from then on forward. Shame on you Nick Clegg for offering something that you can’t provide!
Speaking yesterday Nick Clegg said: “Mental health needs to be addressed with the same urgency as physical health. We need to end the stigma attached to mental illness, to set an example by talking about the issue openly and candidly and ensure everyone can access the support and information they need.”
This is about the only paragraph in that article that I agreed with. I think it is high time that I contacted the Lib Dems to see what had been done about this and what the stance was now
Here is the link to the news story that I am referring to. Please note that it is from February 2011.
In the time between then and now, CBT offering hasn’t changed. It is still provided in this area on a 6 session basis moving forward and not talking about the past. I am under the care of FCMHT. This is provided under the care of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.
I have found a link to the Lib Dem policy on mental health. This is from their autumn conference, 2008. Here is the link.
I will provide an update once I receive one from the Lib Dems and also the Department of Health regarding CBT policies.