At any one time, one in six adults experiences a mental health problem - more than will suffer from cancer or heart disease - and many of these suffer from more common problems such as anxiety or depression. Clinical evidence shows that better access to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can help cure depression and reduce time off work due to ill-health. Patients also prefer talking therapy, just one example of CBT, rather than being dependent on medication alone.

The Department of Health Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies programme currently has two demonstration sites which are linked to regional networks of local improvement projects. The sites are showing that quicker access to therapy services can help patients to recover from illness and return to leading an independent lifestyle, particularly in terms of returning to work or finding employment.

Speaking at the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies conference in London, Patricia Hewitt announced that the ten new pilots will lead the way in expanding access to talking therapies across England, backed by investment of £2 million.

Patricia Hewitt said:

"The blight of mental illness is an issue we are committed to tackling. Central to our efforts is the ability for people who are ill to be able to quickly get the right kind of therapy, instead of being prescribed medication. Mental health services are improving but we want to offer patients greater choice over how, when and where they are treated.

"A year ago, I launched two demonstration sites to establish the best way of providing therapy and to examine the benefits of this treatment approach. One year on and PCTs are now obliged to provide computerised CBT to patients.

"The demonstration sites are showing early signs that if you provide quick access to therapy services, the time that patients are ill is reduced and individuals are better able regain their independence - for example by getting or keeping a job.

"I am pleased to announce today the next phase in the programme, with the establishment of 10 more PCT-led demonstration sites across England. We have a vision that, one day, people will have the choice of quickly and conveniently accessing a range of therapy services, for example via the internet or the local library. But for this to happen, we need a range of different organisations - such as social enterprises - to form partnerships with the health sector and apply to run these new sites. Together we can help to reduce the impact of mental illness."

The projects in Doncaster and Newham have proved highly successful - the Doncaster project alone has already seen 2,500 patients, with clinical outcomes exceeding the expectations set down by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), and 9 out of 10 patients saying that they were highly satisfied with the service.

Ann, a patient at the Doncaster project who is speaking at the conference, suffered from clinical depression. Two years ago, she underwent a course of CBT and as a result, was able to come off medication. She now uses CBT as part of an ongoing coping strategy. Commenting on the benefits of CBT, Ann said:

"Psychological therapy has made a huge difference to my life and basically helped me to keep functioning.

"CBT involves helping yourself by recognising and challenging negative thoughts. It is now very much part of my every day existence and has helped me to get an entirely new, far more positive outlook on life."

Psychological therapies have more than a purely mental health benefit. Helping people to cope better with anxiety and depression can also have a positive effect on physical health, therefore leading to fewer hospital admissions and less dependency on local GP services for those who also have a long term condition. Investing in talking therapies can reduce costs not only in primary and secondary care, but can also impact other areas of people's lives, for example, by helping them to get back to work.

The British Psychological Society's President, Professor Pam Maras said:

"We welcome any opportunity for qualified applied psychologists to make significant contributions in the expansion of evidence-based psychological therapies, and to deliver those services in ways that guarantee high quality and effectiveness for all mental health problems."

Notes to Editors

1. Improving access to talking therapies has the potential to save the economy millions of pounds by helping people with mild to moderate depression to get back into employment and off incapacity benefit. About one in three of the 1.3 million people claiming long-term incapacity benefit in the UK have a mental health problem, mostly mild to moderate depression.

2. The pilots will provide real evidence of the benefits that can be gained from increasing access to psychological therapies, both to the individual and to the local economy. The first two pilot demonstration sites were given £3.7 million funding over two years from the Department of Health.

3. Local people will benefit from the pilots by having:

- Access to coping strategies and support as an alternative to taking sick leave from work due to depression;

- Better support in the work place from Occupational Health;

- Retaining employment, even where the individual may suffer from stress, anxiety or depression;

- Enabling people on benefits to return to work more quickly; and

- More choice over their care and treatment.

4. The process for applying for pathfinder site status is as follows: initial expressions of interest to bid to be one of the pilot sites should be submitted to the Department of Health by 31 May. These will then be followed up by local Regional Development Centre leads who will help sites to develop final, full, applications to be submitted by 29 June. The successful sites will be confirmed by 20 July. It is expected that new services should be operational by September.

5. A positive practice guide to increasing access to psychological therapies was also launched at the conference. Commissioning a Brighter Future explains why the Government is committed to increasing access and highlights examples of best practice from across England. To download Commissioning a Brighter Future and the other documents launched on the day, visit http://www.dh.gov.uk/mentalhealth