Cost-benefit analysis of psychological therapy

Abstract

At present six million people are suffering from clinical depression or anxiety disorders, but only a quarter of them are in treatment. NICE Guidelines prescribe the offer of evidence-based psychological therapy, but they are not implemented, due to lack of therapists within the NHS. We therefore estimate the economic costs and benefits of providing psychological therapy to people not now in treatment.The cost to the government would be fully covered by the savings in incapacity benefits and extra taxes that result from more people being able to work. On our estimates the cost could be recovered within two years -and certainly within five. And the benefits to the whole economy are greater still. This is not because we expect the extra therapy to be targeted especially at people with problems about work. It is because the cost of the therapy is so small (£750 in total), the recovery rates are so high (50%) and the cost of a person on IB is so large (£750 per month).These findings strongly reinforce the humanitarian case for implementing the NICE Guidelines. Current proposals for doing this would require some 8,000 extra psychological therapists within the NHS over the next six years.

The benzodiazepines use and psychological intervention in a Porto health center

“…Psychological intervention can contribute in some way for the reduction of benzodiazepine use. Several studies assume that psychological intervention is very effective, as pharmacological treatment at short-term, however it is more effective with long-term treatment (17,34). In fact, the results of this study indicate that participants who have psychological intervention consume more benzodiazepines than those do not have psychological intervention, which will be understandable.…”

“…Numa investigação de Harkness e Bower (16) foi constatado que a presença de profissionais de saúde mental nos cuidados de saúde primá-rios leva a uma diminuição do número de consultas de medicina geral e familiar, bem como à quantidade de psicofármacos prescritos. A psicologia nos cuidados de saúde primários poderá então ser de certa forma rentá-vel, minimizando os custos e aumentando o bem-estar dos utentes (17). Tendo em consideração o acima descrito pretende-se caraterizar o consumo de benzodiazepinas, bem como a sua associação ao recurso à consulta de psicologia numa instituição dedicada aos cuidados de saúde primários em Portugal.…”

“…A Psicologia poderá ter uma contribuição to a decreased number of general and family medicine consultations and lower prescribing of psychopharmacological drugs. Psychology in primary health care can, in certain way, minimize costs and increase patient well-being (17). Taking the above into account, we intend to characterize the consumption of benzodiazepines and their association with psychological consultations in a primary health care institution in Portugal.…”

Coûts et bénéfices d’un programme de financement des psychothérapies auprès des Français souffrant de troubles dépressifs ou anxieux

“…Les études de Layard estiment qu'un thérapeute peut traiter 80 patients par an sur une base de 11 séances par psychothérapie (Layard, Clark, Knapp et al, 2006 ;Layard, Clark, Knapp et al, 2007). Ainsi, pour une psychothérapie de 12,14 séances -estimation de la présente étude -72,5 patients pourraient être traités par psychothérapeute par an.…”

“…Effectif des psychothérapeutes nécessaires à la prise en charge thérapeutique légers, et haute intensité avec des psychothérapeutes confirmés pour les troubles plus sévères (Layard, Clark, Knapp et al, 2006 ;Layard, Clark, Knapp et al, 2007). Dans ce cas, deux types de formation seraient à envisager.…”