New annual figures have been released by NHS Digital on referrals to talking therapies in England during 2019–20.

The Psychological Therapies, the annual report on the use of IAPT services 2019–20 publication provides information on the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. This programme is run by the NHS in England and offers NICE-approved therapies for treating people with depression and anxiety.

Information that can be found in the report and the interactive dashboard includes:

• number of referrals to talking therapies
• outcomes of treatments, including recovery
• the average number of sessions per referral
• waiting times for entering and finishing treatment
• demographic and geographic breakdowns
• trend data for key activity and outcomes

Key facts include: 

• 1.69 million referrals to talking therapies up 5.7% from 1.60 million in 2018–19
• 87.4% started treatment within six weeks down 2.0% from 89.4% in 2018–19
• 1.17 million referrals started treatment up 6.7% from 1.09 million in 2018–19
• 6.9 sessions of treatment on average
• 606,192 referrals completed a course of treatment up 4.1% from 582,556 in 2018–19
• 51.1% of referrals moved to recovery down 1.0% from 52.1% in 2018–19

Please note that these numbers reflect activity in the year and are not all based on the same group of referrals. The proportion of referrals starting treatment within six weeks, mean treatment session, and the recovery rate are based on referrals completing a course of IAPT treatment in the year.

People seek treatment through IAPT services for depression and a range of anxiety disorders such as agoraphobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorders, panic disorders and social phobias.