Are Digital Therapies the Future for NHS Mental Health Services?

Analysis from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence suggests that digital mental health therapies could be crucial in freeing up thousands of hours of NHS therapists’ time

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on National Health Executive

Researchers analysing data from NHS England found that digital therapies for PTSD could save therapists approximately 5,000 hours for every 1,000 patients treated.

“Mental health services are facing record demand, and these digitally enabled therapies can help the NHS get support to more people faster,” said NICE’s Mark Chapman, director of the Health Technologies Programme.

Digital mental health expert at the University of Nottingham, Professor Chris Hollis, commented: “Digital mental health over the next decade will embrace new technologies including artificial intelligence, wearables, and extended reality.”

NICE has found that digitally enabled therapies for anxiety could save around 6,000 therapist hours per 1,000 patients in NHS Talking Therapies across England. This study comes as NHS Talking Therapies faces a record number of referrals, with 1.82 million in 2023/24—slightly surpassing the 2021/22 figures and more than double the 884,000 referrals seen in 2012/13.

NHS Talking Therapies provides NICE-approved treatments for mental health conditions such as depression, stress, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.