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Charlie Waller Institute awarded contract for important new training programme – University of Reading

The Charlie Waller Institute of Evidence-Based Psychological Treatment, the University of Reading's pioneering mental health training and research centre, and Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have won a hugely important contract to provide training for new therapists as part of the Government's programme to Increase Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT). This programme aims to provide 3,600 new therapists over the next three years who will be able to provide cognitive behaviour therapy for anxiety and depression.

The IAPT initiative aims to increase the number of clinicians trained in proven treatment methods to 19 in the Reading area in the first year, a 200% increase, thereby increasing the speed with which patients can be helped and improving the outcome and effectiveness of their treatment.

Under the contract, worth £1million over two and a half years, the Institute will be training staff from within the South Central Strategic Health Authority to become qualified in National Institute of Health & Clinical Excellence approved treatments - largely Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for depression and anxiety.

Each new therapist will receive a year's training funded by the Strategic Health Authority (SHA) and will spend one or two days a week at the University, with the remainder spent delivering psychological treatment to patients under supervision. The University of Reading are providing the main part of the training for the SHA, covering low and high intensity delivery training, and supervision training.

Professor Roz Shafran, co-Director at Charlie Waller Institute said: "We are delighted to have been awarded the contract for such a vital training programme that will increase the availability of therapies that work and hence aid patients suffering from anxiety and depression to successfully re-engage into society. To be chosen as only one of two training providers within the SHA shows that although we are a new Institute we have already developed an outstanding reputation. We look forward to providing first-class post-graduate certificate and diploma level training over the next three years."

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For all University of Reading media enquiries please contact James Barr, Press Officer tel 0118 378 7115 or email j.w.barr@reading.ac.uk

Notes for Editors:

The Charlie Waller Institute:

The Charlie Waller Institute of Evidence-Based Psychological Treatment opened in January 2008 and is the first of its type to train clinicians in proven psychological treatments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

The aims of the Charlie Waller Institute are to:

• train clinicians in evidence-based psychological treatments in particular those recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE);

• evaluate the effectiveness of the training to ensure that it improves clinician knowledge, skills and patient outcome;

• undertake research to add to the evidence-base for effective psychological treatments

The Institute is named after Charlie Waller, a Berkshire man who took his own life at the age of 28. His parents, Rt. Hon Sir Mark Waller and Lady Rachel Waller, set up a Trust in his memory to raise awareness of the nature and dangers of depression, reduce stigma and train clinicians in effective psychological therapies.

The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme:

The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme began in 2006, with two pilot projects in Newham, East London, and Doncaster, in Yorkshire, focused on working-age adults. Between them, they saw 5,000 patients in a year and brought well over half of them to measurable recovery with the number going to work rising by 10 per cent.

The Joint project between the University of Reading, The Charlie Waller Trust and Berkshire Healthcare Foundation NHS Trust has been selected as one the national training services for these new models of talking therapies. Training places are expected to become available through the NHS jobs website www.jobs.nhs.ukfrom late June.