Improving Access to Psychological Therapies
CWI as a training provider for the IAPT programme
The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme began in October 2007 when the Government announced annual investment rising to £173m by 2010/11 to fund the roll-out of evidence-based psychological therapy services across England. The IAPT programme has one principal aim; to support Primary Care Trusts in implementing the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines for people suffering from depression and anxiety disorders.
As part of the "earn and learn" approach, a new workforce was specifically recruited, to be trained in delivering these interventions. The Strategic Health Authorities commissioned higher education institutions to start training the newly recruited workforce, using the IAPT national curriculum for high and low (PWP) intensity therapy workers. The South Central SHA appointed The Charlie Waller Institute (Reading University) as a training provider on the basis of the quality of the training, value for money and ability to deliver on commitments. The training courses began in November 2008 and CWI has trained more than 200 therapists in low and high intensity interventions. In March 2011 South Central Strategic Health Authority confirmed that the Charlie Waller Institute is being commissioned to continue the provision of Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) and High Intensity training (HI) within the IAPT programme for a further two years. The PWP and HI programmes continue to be fully accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) respectively. Charlie Waller Institute has recently won 2 IAPT tenders; The Children and Young People's IAPT Project Phase One Learning Collaboratives: www.iapt.nhs.uk/children-and-young-peoples-iapt/cyp-iapt-learning-collaboratives-/ and the additional modalities (non CBT) incorporating IPT, DIT, Counselling for depression and Couple therapy (announcement pending).
A key element of the IAPT training is that workers undertake a year's programme combining training with workplace clinical application of their skills within an IAPT service. Consequently the University is unable to accept applications for IAPT training places directly. Applications for employment as a therapy worker should be made directly to local service providers. Details of current and future service providers with funding are available from the IAPT website (www.iapt.nhs.uk) and vacancies are advertised on the NHS website:www.jobs.nhs.uk (search IAPT).