There is plenty of help available if you’re experiencing a mental health problem or you know someone else who is experiencing a mental health problem. Examples and explanations of the various supports and treatments are available on the Breathing Space website [external site].
NHS Living Life
With funding from the Scottish Government, NHS 24 launched NHS Living Life in August 2008. NHS Living Life is a pilot telephone cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) service for people who are feeling low, depressed or anxious. The service is available by referral from selected GP surgeries in five health board areas. Self-referral has been available since late 2009 in two of the pilot board areas (Shetland and Western Isles), and in February 2010 this was extended to all five pilot board areas.
Widening access to Self Help (WISH)
The Scottish Government also funded a pilot to provide multiple ways of accessing CBT self-help for people experiencing mild to moderate depression or anxiety. It is delivered through one-to-one self help clinics, written workbooks, CD ROMs, telephone, group sessions, college courses and website delivery. This pilot is hosted by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and to date the three boards involved in delivery have been: NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Highland and NHS Lanarkshire. Five boards have signed up to take on rollout of WISH from spring 2011 – the three original participant boards plus NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lothian. The Scottish Government is funding NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s central coordination and support role in the rollout.
The work on psychological therapies is part of the Scottish Government's commitment (through Delivering for Mental Health) to increase the availability of evidence-based psychological therapies in a range of settings and through a range of providers. This commitment was reinforced in 'Towards a Mentally Flourishing Scotland'.
This project grew out of requests from NHS Boards for advice on commissioning Psychological Therapies in local areas to enable them to plan and provide the most effective available psychological treatments for their particular patient population. The Matrix is a guide to planning and delivering evidence-based Psychological Therapies within NHS Boards in Scotland. It provides a summary of the information on the current evidence base for various therapeutic approaches, a template to aid in the identification of key gaps in service, and advice on important governance issues. To view the matrix click here