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Charlie Waller Foundation to part-fund new NHS psychotherapy post – University of Reading

The Charlie Waller Foundation will provide the majority of funding for a five-year Chair in cognitive behavioural psychotherapy (CBT) to be based jointly at the University of Reading and the Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust. The Chair is the first to be appointed in the UK and will raise the international profile of training, research and development in CBT. CBT is the number-one recommended psychotherapeutic treatment for mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety and bulimia nervosa but currently there is a shortage of practitioners able to deliver this treatment, especially within the NHS. However, there are many graduates who wish to be trained in CBT but are currently unable to enrol on a course due to a lack of training places. The appointment of the Chair in CBT will help to ease this situation. The Chair will head a team of teachers and researchers who will bid for research funding and will also engage in local CBT training programmes. It is hoped that this will contribute to an increase in CBT practitioners in various settings including NHS primary and secondary care. Dr Judi Ellis, Head of the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, welcomes the new appointment, 'The Department of Psychology at Reading is one of the premier psychology departments in the UK so the University is well placed to host the chair. In the Research Assessment Exercise the department holds the very top rating of 5**. In the teaching assessment (QAA) we also achieved the very top rating of 24 points.' 'The appointment of this Chair will increase the number of students able to take a specialist option in clinical psychology and provide a new and valuable opportunity for some to learn about CBT.' Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust is in the process of radically changing its provision of psychotherapeutic care. This involves extensive psychological (including CBT) training and delivery at all levels (please see appendix A). Kevin Lewis, Director of Modernisation and Performance for Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust said, 'From our work with service users we know that they greatly value talking therapies such as CBT. We are working across our Trust to train staff at all levels so that we can provide rapid access to appropriate talking therapies for our service users. The Chair will be expected to oversee this local innovative training to ensure quality and development as well as contributing nationally to NHS provision of CBT. This programme will bring exciting professional challenges for our staff while improving the service we deliver.' Ends For media enquiries please contact: University of Reading Eleanor Holmes, Press Officer T: 0118 378 6166 E: e.m.holmes@rdg.ac.uk Berkshire Healthcare Trust Nicola Malster, Communications Manager T: 01344 823242 M: 07917 211284 E: Nicola.Malster@berkshire.nhs.uk