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Cognitive behavioural therapy for the management of common mental health problems

This commissioning guide provides support for the local implementation of NICE clinical guidelines through commissioning, and is a resource to help health professionals in England to commission appropriate levels of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for the treatment of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety in primary care.

Although this commissioning guide focuses on CBT, other available psychological therapies include behaviour therapy, interpersonal therapy, problem-solving therapy, non-directive counselling and short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy. Commissioners should therefore consider securing the appropriate provision of psychological therapies services according to the needs of their population.

This commissioning guide covers the commissioning of CBT services for adults only. The commissioning arrangements for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services are separate and distinctive from those for adults and are not covered in this guide.

References to anxiety within this guide mean generalised anxiety disorder or panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia) as per the definition of anxiety in the NICE clinical guideline CG22 (amended) ‘Anxiety: management of anxiety (panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia, and generalised anxiety disorder) in adults in primary, secondary and community care.

This commissioning guide should be read in conjunction with the following NICE guidance:

The guidance covers clinical and cost effectiveness in detail and underpins the content of this guide. Implementation of the guidance noted above is the responsibility of local commissioners and/or providers. Commissioners and providers are reminded that it is their responsibility to implement this guidance, in their local context, in light of their duties to avoid unlawful discrimination and to have regard to promoting equality of opportunity. Nothing in the guidance should be interpreted in a way which would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

The guide:

The full text of this commissioning guide is openly available, and is accessed from the navigation menu on the left of the screen. The associated commissioning tool is designed to support the guide, and is currently available to primary care organisations in England. For information governance reasons, registration is required to access the tool. Go to the commissioning tool page to register for access and to log in.

We are keen to improve the commissioning guides in order to better meet the needs of commissioners. Please send us your ideas for future topic-specific guides or other comments.

Read the NICE disclaimer for information on the use and accuracy of content on the NICE website.