New study finds local therapy services better for people with complex mental health needs
News from BACP

People in England who’ve been hospitalised long-term, with complex mental health difficulties, would benefit through intensive psychotherapeutic help closer to home in a less restrictive setting, says new research¹ launched in parliament today.

The study commissioned by the Talking Therapies Taskforce², of which we are a member, found that the most complex 1.5% of people who have been given a diagnosis of personality disorder make up nearly a third of total spend (£920 million annually) - money being spent on hospital care with little benefit to patients.

Better patient outcomes and reduced cost

The researchers compared outcomes from clinical and local authority patient records of almost 30,000 people with these diagnoses, from one rural setting (Devon) and one urban setting (Northwest London).

They found that the most complex 1.8% of people accounted for 32.5% of the total cost in Devon, and 1.1% accounted for 23.9% of the total cost in London.

The study also found that services offering alternatives to long-term hospitalisation with community intensive days and outpatient therapeutic treatments had much better outcomes for patients and cost far less.

BACP President Lynne Gabriel and Vice-President Baroness Luciana Burger at the parliamentary launch. 

Unacceptable human and financial cost

Dr Lisa Morrison Coulthard, our Director of Professional Standards, Policy and Research said:

“We believe the current human and financial cost is totally unacceptable. People with the most complex mental health needs are being lost in a system of inpatient care which manages risk but doesn’t provide the therapy they need to recover.

“We support the study’s call for a new national strategy for this most vulnerable group of people as an opportunity to improve services and reduce cost in keeping with Government’s stated priorities.

“We also urge the Government to remove barriers to accessing counselling and psychotherapy and support the qualified yet underutilised workforce of counsellors, psychotherapists, and therapeutic coaches to make a greater contribution in meeting the current level of need.”

Read the full report 'Improving support for people with complex mental health difficulties'.

¹ The Health Economics And Relational Disorder (HEARD) study was undertaken with the support of Devon Partnership NHS Trust who funded the data analysis and in collaboration with the Peninsula Collaboration for Health Operational Research (PenCHORD) and Whole Systems Integrated Care (WSIC) in West London.

² The Talking Therapies Taskforce (TTTF) commissioned the Centre for Mental Health to write this health economic report of the HEARD study findings. TTTF is formed of organisations including the The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), Medical Psychotherapy Faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych), The British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC), The Association for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in the Public Sector (APPP), the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and The Society for Psychotherapy Research, UK Chapter (SPR UK).