Campaign # Direct Access to Counselling

The NCPS are advocating for direct access to counselling & psychotherapy via the Accredited Register programme

The NCPS are advocating for direct access to counselling & psychotherapy via the Accredited Register programme, allowing patients to choose their own therapist and treatment modality.

By reducing waiting lists and improving access to mental health support, patients can receive early intervention and reduce the long-term costs to the NHS and society. Patients who can choose their therapist and modality are invested in their care and more likely to improve, and this approach can help prevent the development of chronic mental health conditions. Additionally, providing a choice of practitioner and modality can remove mental health inequalities and ensure that high-quality, timely, and appropriate mental health support is available to all.

**1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England (**NHS - Adult Psychiatric Morbidity in England - 2007, Results of a household survey)

## Take Action

[### Write to your MP 1 MB | pdf If you would like to write to your MP on this important issue we have created a template letter Download Download](https://ncps.lon1.digitaloceanspaces.com/files/Direct-Access-to-Counselling-Fillable-Letter-to-MPs.pdf) 

## Download Resources

[### DAC campaign posters 5 MB | pdf Download Download](https://ncps.lon1.digitaloceanspaces.com/files/DAC-Campaign-posters.pdf) 

## Related articles

[### A Danish Study Sheds Light on the Importance of Choice and Autonomy in Talking Therapies The National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society's (NCPS) Direct Access to Counselling Campaign advocates precisely for this philosophy: the freedom to choose…](https://ncps.com/our-voice/a-danish-study-sheds-light-on-the-importance-of-choice-and-autonomy-in-talking-therapies) 

[### Enlisting Counsellors and Psychotherapists to Address Rural Mental Health - A Response to the EFRA Committee The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee’s report on rural mental health highlights an alarming disparity in mental health care for rural…](https://ncps.com/our-voice/enlisting-counsellors-and-psychotherapists-to-address-rural-mental-health-a-response-to-the-efra-committee) 

[### Timely mental health support: A moral and economic imperative, supported by science The Society has been campaigning on the need for timely mental health intervention for some time now.](https://ncps.com/our-voice/timely-mental-health-support-a-moral-and-economic-imperative-supported-by-science)