The Children and Young Person’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (CYP IAPT) programme aims to transform the way existing services provide mental health support to children and young people. Supported by an additional 1,700 therapeutic staff nationally, by 2020 the intention is to create a culture of full collaboration between services and families. The programme began in 2011 and is working to achieve 100% coverage of the 0-19 population by 2018.
The key tenets of the CYP IAPT programme are:
- The use of regular feedback and routine outcome measures to guide therapy in the room and better understand the impact of interventions
- Improving user participation in treatment, service design and delivery
- Improving access to evidence-based therapies through new training programmes that are NICHE approved and best evidence-based
- Training managers and service leads in change, demand and capacity management
CYP IAPT is not about creating new standalone services. It is about embedding the above principles and transforming existing services providing mental health care to children and young people.
NHS England (NHSE) and Health Education England (HEE) are overseeing the roll out of CYP IAPT. Local delivery of the programme is being managed and guided through regional collaboratives established to support and guide local CAMHS partnerships as they develop and introduce new arrangements and service transformation.
Implementing the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health
By 2020/21, there will be a significant expansion in access to high-quality mental health care for children and young people. At least 70,000 additional children and young people each year will receive evidence-based treatment – representing an increase in access to NHS-funded community services to meet the needs of at least 35% of those with diagnosable mental health conditions.