In 2021 our article “It’s good to talk” highlighted the more than 600,000 individuals who had completed a talking therapy course in the previous year. That article also commented on the NHS’s ambition to help 1.9 million people with talking therapies by the year 2023/24 in addition to those who were receiving talking and other therapies outside of the NHS banner. Fast forward to 2025 and new figures reveal that, whilst the ambitious target hasn’t been fully met, over the past year 1.8 million talking therapy referrals did lead to 1.2 million individuals starting treatment.
The talking therapies programme has though moved on from those early days. An ONS survey revealed that talking therapies not only had an immediate impact on an individual’s ability to find paid work in the year immediately following the therapy, the effect could be seen for a number of years after the treatment had completed.
This has resulted in an enhancement of the programme with those who are struggling to find work as a result of their mental health issues receiving additional work-related assistance. This might take the form of help with applying for jobs such as completing application forms or writing a CV, or in-work advice such as setting and meeting goals. Over the past year over 67,000 individuals received this work-related advice alongside their talking therapies.
Commenting on the programme, NHS National Director for Mental Health, Claire Murdoch, said: “The NHS has heard for many years from patients struggling with their mental health that working and having a purpose can have a hugely positive impact. This is why I’m thrilled that NHS staff have helped more than 67,000 mental health patients with employment advice, because for many, having the right job and support is crucial in their mental health journey.”
Continuing on the theme of mental help for individuals, at the beginning of February 2025 the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) set out new digital mental health technology guidance. This guidance aims to ensure that digital technologies which are used to diagnose, prevent or treat conditions are effective, reliable and acceptably safe. This, it is hoped, will help to ensure that individuals who use mental health apps can do so with confidence.
The guidance covers:
- How to define and communicate the intended purpose of a digital mental health technology
- When a digital mental health technology is considered a medical device under UK law.
- How risk classification is determined, ensuring proportionate regulation for different types of technologies.
Commenting on the guidance Rob Reid, Deputy Director of Innovative Devices at the MHRA, said:
“Effective and acceptably safe digital tools have huge potential to improve mental health support, making help more accessible than ever.”
Echoing these thoughts, Mark Salmon, Deputy Director of Science Evidence and Analytics at NICE, said: “Providing more detailed guidance to the developers of digital mental health technologies helps us to ensure that technologies being considered for NICE assessments have received an appropriate level of regulatory scrutiny to assure their safety. There are many types of technologies available, and it is important people can understand how regulations apply to different products.”