The electronic therapist

With resources stretched and waiting lists growing, it can be difficult to find the help that you need when you’re suffering from anxiety or depression, but now help is on hand – in the shape of a computer.


Beating The Blues is a new eight-part computer-based cognitive behaviour therapy programme designed to help people change the way they think and behave in order to positively alter their feelings and mood, and it’s being trialled in Manchester by local mental health service Self Help Services, as part of an NHS pilot.


The programme uses exercises and case studies that are watched and completed in each session. And it’s not just the treatment that is a little different. Rather than the traditional one-on-one session in a consultation room, the Beating The Blues group is being held in an IT Suite and has space for up to 48 people.


It’s not all new thinking though. While the programme is on computers, there are also three support workers on hand to provide assistance. Inevitably, there will be some people who might feel uncomfortable using a computer for such a purpose. Nicky Lidbetter, who manages the project, is quick to allay any such fears.

"The need in Manchester for this service is so high that the NHS simply doesn’t have enough professionals available, so we’re filling in the gaps."

Nicky Lidbetter explains why the computer-based programme is needed


"We don’t see CCBT as replacing the usual method, but the need in Manchester for this type of service is so high that the NHS simply doesn’t have enough professionals available, so we’re filling in the gaps. It’s exactly the service as you would get from a face-to-face consultation.


"Computer aided packages are a great way for people to use services at their own pace. They can spend as little or as long as they want to complete the sections and even re-visit them if they feel it would help."


Nicky also points out that, while the sessions are available to people through self-referral, they are closely linked to existing medical channels of communication.


"It’s all done with close consultation with GPs, with regular week-to-week updates, and if there is a need for further treatment or referral, that can happen. We also have our own in-house mental health services, so any help that is needed is available."


The pilot runs until June and there are plans to extend it to November, with the possibility of similar services starting in other areas of Manchester.