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Experiences of Improving Access to Psychological Therapy Services for Perinatal Mental Health Difficulties: a Qualitative Study of Women's and Therapists’ Views

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2017

Lottie Millett ,
Billie Lever Taylor ,
Louise M. Howard ,
Debra Bick ,
Nicky Stanley  and
Sonia Johnson
Lottie Millett
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, University College London, UK
Billie Lever Taylor*
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, University College London, UK
Louise M. Howard
Affiliation:
Section of Women's Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
Debra Bick
Affiliation:
Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery/Women's Health Division, King's College London, UK
Nicky Stanley
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, Care and Community, University of Central Lancashire, UK
Sonia Johnson
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, University College London, UK
*
Correspondence to Billie Lever Taylor, Division of Psychiatry, University College London, Maple House, 149 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 7NF, UK. E-mail: billie.taylor@ucl.ac.uk
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Abstract

Background: Perinatal mental health difficulties are highly prevalent. In England, the Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) programme provides evidence-based psychological treatment, predominantly in the form of brief manualized cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), to people with mild to moderate depression or anxiety. Yet little is known about the experiences of women referred to IAPT with perinatal mental health difficulties. Aims: The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate how women view IAPT support for perinatal mental health. We also gained the perspective of IAPT therapists. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve women who had been referred to and/or received therapy from IAPT during the perinatal period. Additionally, fourteen IAPT therapists participated in two focus groups. Thematic analysis was used. Results: Key themes centred on barriers to access and the need to tailor support to (expectant) mothers. Women and therapists suggested that experiences could be improved by supporting healthcare professionals to provide women with more help with referrals, better tailoring support to the perinatal context, improving perinatal-specific training, supervision and resources, and offering a more individualized treatment environment. Conclusions: Overall, women reported positive experiences of support offered by IAPT for perinatal mental health difficulties. However, services should seek to facilitate access to support and to enable therapists to better tailor treatment.

Keywords

IAPTperinatal mental healthCBTqualitative methods
Type
Research Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 46 , Issue 4 , July 2018 , pp. 421 - 436
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2017 

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