TR to train more NHS mental health practitioners to support couples and families

Published in Blog by Kate Thompson on October 30th 2023

Kate Thompson - couple psychoanalytic psychotherapist, faculty staff member and clinical lecturer at Tavistock Relationships (TR), the charity helping couples and individuals to have better relationships - explains why more couples where one or both is diagnosed with depression will be able to access the highly effective NHS Talking Therapy ‘Couple Therapy for Depression’.

A partnership with effective outcomes

We’ve been working in partnership with the NHS for many years and our Couple Therapy for Depression (CTfD) training programme has delivered excellent outcomes.

CTfD is a NICE-recommended, evidence-based treatment delivered within the Government’s NHS Talking Therapies service. It has been designed to treat depression in individuals within their couple relationship, using the relationship as a key resource for recovery.

The therapy reduces damaging interactions between couples, builds emotional openness and trust, and improves communication and behaviour.

The therapy reduces damaging interactions between couples, builds emotional openness and trust, and improves communication and behaviour. It also helps the couple to cope with the ordinary and not-so ordinary stresses that arise in the course of everyday life.

Building on success

Last year, we successfully trained 96 new practitioners and five supervisors in CTfD. And this year we’ve been commissioned to deliver training to 100 more NHS practitioners who are working with couples where one or both have significant mental health problems. The training will take place over the next 12 months at NHS Trusts in England and Wales.

We’ve also been asked to develop a version of CTfD with a perinatal focus. This encompasses the developmental challenges facing all couples as they contemplate parenthood and adapt to its challenges, during pregnancy, the birth and during the first year of their baby’s life.

We’ll deliver the Perinatal CTfD training to around 50 experienced clinicians who work in perinatal services around the country.

We’ll deliver the Perinatal CTfD training to around 50 experienced clinicians who work in perinatal services around the country. We’re also designing awareness programmes to increase understanding of perinatal issues for the wider perinatal workforce.

Find out more about Couple Therapy for Depression

Watch Kate Thompson explain CTfD in this video.

Kate has edited a new book, ‘Couples as Parents’, due to be released by Routledge, January 2024.

Find out more about TR’s Couple Therapy for Depression (CTfD) training.

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Kate Thompson

by Kate Thompson

Joint Head of Couple Therapy for Depression, Projects and Business Development

Formerly Head of Strategic Development at TR, Kate is the Project Head for Couple Therapy for Depression Training of NHS practitioners.

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