Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to widen access to appropriate therapy treatments for adult survivors of childhood abuse.

National Health Service mental health services can support adults who have experienced trauma as a result of childhood abuse.

The Government has chosen to prioritise funding to deliver expansions of NHS Talking Therapies. These offer well-governed, evidence-based, and effective psychological therapy services for common mental health problems, including depression, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress reactions. These services are available in every integrated care system through self-referral.

NHS Talking Therapies consistently meet the existing waiting time standards, which state that 75% of referrals should be seen within six weeks, and 95% of referrals should be seen within 18 weeks. NHS Talking Therapies continue to expand to deliver additional courses of treatment and to increase the number of sessions available. It is expected that an additional 384,000 people will access treatment by 2028/29.

Guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends that individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder should receive high-intensity interventions from the outset. The recent expansion focuses on the high-intensity workforce within NHS Talking Therapies, who receive training on how to support individuals impacted by abuse. This workforce includes therapists trained in trauma focussed Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.