UK Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged that ’10,000 members of staff will be trained spotting issues around mental health’ adding that the National Citizens Service ‘will build in mental health awareness’ after admitting to the BBC that the UK’s mental health services are ‘patchy’ and need to be reviewed.
The Prime Minister told BBC’s News Beat she would support teenagers through a new strategy and better access to help.
While 6,000 mental health nurses and doctors have been cut from the HS since 2010, Mrs May denied there’s a big problem with mental health provision in the UK, despite Labour accusing ministers of letting a generation of young people down and not funding services properly.
Earlier this year, a survey of NHS trusts suggested that mental health services in England could be overwhelmed by a combination of rising demand and staff shortages.
And Mrs May told the BBC: “One of the things I’ve been doing is actually looking at the community mental health services for young people and reviewing that across the country because it is patchy.”
While services seem to be struggling, clinical hypnotherapy is an alternative source of help for those suffering some mental health issues. It is also known that more young people are suffering from stress and anxiety than in previous years which can lead to further problems as they grow up, if not treated.
Says the National Council for Hypnotherapy, which has more than 1,800 highly-trained therapists across the UK: “Hypnotherapy is an evidence based therapy, with over 70,000 research references worldwide.”
The Council explains that hypnotherapy is the application of hypnotic techniques in such a way as to bring about therapeutic changes. An external influence (the hypnotherapist) assists in activating the inner resources of a person (the client) in order to achieve realistic goals.
“We live in a society where great demands and responsibilities are placed on us,” says the NCH. “Today, about one in seven people are suffering from stress or anxiety at any one time in the UK. And while some people manage, more and more people are showing signs of over-anxiety, which leads to stress, which can make a significant impact on the quality of life and wellbeing.”
There could be people who want help but cannot get it due to the strains on the NHS. But, says the NCH, you may be ‘one of those people but are now ready to explore ways of freeing yourself from anxiety and living a fulfilled and happy life, free to do things that bring you joy’,
Mrs May told the BBC: “Over the years we haven’t given mental health the same focus in our National Health Service and other services as I think is necessary. Intervening early for young people is important. We’ve increased the number of mental health beds for young people and we’re putting record amounts of funding into mental health in the NHS.”
She adds: “We do need to ensure is that we are raising that awareness and seeing that support there.”
But that could take time and it is known that GPs are under pressure too. Mrs May said she had visited a school recently and saw ‘some of the first sets of training that we’re doing for teachers and staff in schools so they can better identify when young people have mental health problems and to know what is the right support to give to those young people’.
Clinical hypnotherapy can help those who want to be helped and, if you are one of those people, why not con tact and NCH therapist near you by using the NCH directory? It could be a life-changing decision.