NHS Talking Therapies Glaring Failures, Are Highlighted By A Focus On One of The Long-Term Conditions It Targets

CBT is hailed as effective treatment for long-term conditions (LTCs) such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). The latter is posited as being maintained by excessively negative cognitions. NHS Talking Therapies, purportedly, provides access to effective treatment for this condition. But this is yet another NHS Talking Therapies myth.

Minimal Access

The prevalence of IBS is between 5 and 20%, and given an adult population of 30 million in England, one would expect (at 10%) 30 X 10⁵ sufferers annually. Thus 3 million is the potential pool of IBS sufferers that could present at NHS Talking Therapies. The service receives approximately 1 million referrals a year and therefore one could expect 100,000 sufferers from IBS to present to NHS Talking Therapies a year, But the latest data from NHS Digital and a response to a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) that I received in June 2024. suggest that approx. 200 present each year, so that it is seeing just 1 in 500 of IBS sufferers. Thus, it cannot be said to be meaningfully provide access to IBS sufferers.

Disengagement

Further, for every 2 people having one assessment/treatment session, only 1 person has 2 or more treatment sessions. The Service is having a serious engagement problem with IBS sufferers.

No Evidence of Recovery

Yet for those who have 2 or more sessions it claims a 50% recovery rate, but this is based on using the PHQ-9, a self-report depression questionnaire as an outcome measure. It can scarcely be taken to measure the severity of IBS. 

Dubious Non-Friendly Model

CBT treatment for long-term conditions (LTCs) is predicated on the assumption that difficulties are maintained by excessively negative cognitions. Little wonder that IBS sufferers have a ‘thanks, but no thanks’ response to engaging with NHS Talking Therapies.

Dr Mike Scott