Mental Health Foundation say mediation must be available on the NHS
Mindful Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a NICE approved treatment based on meditation techniques. Research has shown that this kind of treatment is capable of cutting recurrent depression by half, but with as little as 1 in 5 GPs having access to this kind of medical care despite 72% of them believing it would benefit the mental health of their patients, The Mental Health Foundation say’s it must be made available on the NHS.
With 1 in 10 suffering from depression the cost to the economy is a staggering £7.5 billion annually, with most patients being treated with antidepressants. The number of prescriptions made each year has doubled in a decade, reaching 38 million in 2008. Mental Health authorities believe that alternative treatment should be sought to save England from becoming a nation dependent on anti depressants and this is why The Mental Health Foundation have released a report calling for people who suffer repeated episodes of depression to be offered MBCT.
Research has proven that MBCT cuts relapse rates in half for those who experience more than two bouts of depression. Recurrent depression is common, with 50% of sufferers having more than one episode and the risk of relapse increasing with each episode thereafter. Research has proven that MBCT can cut this rate in half for those experiencing more than two bouts of depression, yet access for sufferers is extremely limited.