How Swindon became the top therapy town
Paraic O'Brien
Foreign Affairs Correspondent
As Channel 4 News visits Swindon as part of #c4newspopup, we take a look at how the local NHS has managed to get so many people to enter therapy to cope with depression and stress.
Swindon has 10 times the national average for people in therapy who were diagnosed with depression or stress.
Data published this month shows how more than 1,500 people from the town, population 209,000, have entered treatment in recent months out of a total of 25,700 locals suffering from depression.
The treatment is being provided under a scheme called improving access to psychological therapies. Across the country 259,016 people were referred under the programme with 154,722 entering treatment.
The area has become a national model for treatment and they say their considerably higher number of referrals is thanks to the work of the Lift Psychology team offering constant support.
There is no reason our methods couldn't be used in London boroughs, it's about having a shift in philosophy and giving a choice to your patients
Barbara Stapleton, Lift Psychology
Lift is run as an open access opt-in service available to anyone with at least one therapist based in each GP practice.
Barbara Stapleton from Lift Psychology explained how they have managed a much higher success rate than the rest of the country by using a more holistic approach.
She explained to Channel 4 News that they are trying to create a culture where it is normal to attend therapy for problems.
“We operate on a psycho-social model, not a medical model. If people have problems caused by unemployment or homelessness they need help with that too,” she explained.
“There is no reason our methods couldn’t be used in London boroughs, it’s about having a shift in philosophy and giving a choice to your patients.”
The service aims to see patients within two weeks and people can book themselves onto psycho-educational courses.
They take on everyone from veterans suffering from post traumatic stress to people who have lost their jobs or are dealing with serious illness. Many are provided coping strategies and may not require further treatment.
The centre enjoys a much higher success rate compared with areas like Hillingdon, where there has been just a 2 per cent success rate at getting people into therapy.