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:
- 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
- NICE clinical guideline CG90 Depression in adults (update)
- NICE clinical guideline CG26 Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): the management of PTSD in adults and children in primary and secondary care
- NICE clinical guideline CG31 Obsessive-compulsive disorder: core interventions in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder
- NICE technology appraisal TA97 Computerised cognitive behaviour therapy for depression and anxiety.
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:
- makes the case for commissioning a service providing CBT
- specifies service requirements
- helps you determine local service levels
- helps you ensure corporate and quality assurance.
The full text of this commissioning guide can be downloaded or accessed from the navigation menu on the right hand side of the screen. Download the openly available commissioning and benchmarking tool, there is no need to register.
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.
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This page was last updated: 09 December 2010
- Cognitive behavioural therapy service
- Commissioning a service providing cognitive behavioural therapy for the management of common mental health problems
- Specifying a service providing cognitive behavioural therapy for the management of common mental health problems
- Determining local service levels for a service providing cognitive behavioural therapy for the management of common mental health problems
- Assumptions used in estimating a population benchmark
- The commissioning and benchmarking tool
- Ensuring corporate and quality assurance
