News Release: Mental Health Support Requires Fresh Thinking
Grim Waiting Times and Short Shrift Budget Mean Reform Is Urgently Needed, says campaigner
The Scottish Government has been urged to draw a line in the sand in the way mental health counselling services are delivered by therapist and campaigner Jamie Kinlochan.
He has called for new solutions after the publication of mental health waiting times and the Scottish budget this week showed that people are waiting months for mental health appointments, in services that are not doing anything differently.
New figures, released by Public Health Scotland this week [1], show that waiting times for psychological therapies in Scotland remain unacceptably long.
Between July and September 2024, 80.0% of people of all ages started their treatment within four months weeks of referral, similar to the 80.2% of people who started treatment in the previous quarter. The Scottish Government standard states that 90% of people should start their treatment within 18 weeks of referral to PT. The Scottish Government standard has never been met by existing services since records became available in 2020.
The Scottish Government’s budget, meanwhile, [2] will mean a real terms cut to the mental health services budget available to local authorities - with the budget frozen over the next year, inflation will mean services being asked to do more with less.
Statistics released last week showed that people who received treatment or advice from their GP for a mental health reason were less likely to rate their experience positively, compared with people who received treatment or advice for other reasons. [3]
Combined, Kinlochan says, this shows that the Scottish Government is either out of transformative solutions or is choosing to let people’s mental health get worse. He argues that it is time for a fresh, community based approach to mental health care like counselling, so that everyone who needs support can get it.
Arguing that that the answer to consistently long waiting times is about breaking away from the current, fragmented system of how counsellors are trained, how services are delivered and the kind of support that people get, Jamie said:
“Talking therapy can be life-changing - it gives people a supportive space to explore their emotions, tackle life’s challenges, and develop their own solutions. However we can’t expect the benefits to reach everyone if the system isn’t designed to deliver care when and where it’s needed. Telling people that it’s okay not to be okay is a great slogan, however in order to mean it, the Government has to now look at a different way of doing things. The funding and the policy creativity is not matching the rhetoric”
Kinlochan argues that the current model of psychological therapies like counselling relies heavily on a patchwork of NHS services, underfunded charities, and private provision. This fragmented approach has led to significant barriers:
Trainee therapists are burdened with the costs of their education - paying tens of thousands of pounds to qualify [4] - while being expected to provide free sessions as part of their training.
Once qualified, many find the lack of stable public-sector jobs forces them into private practice to make their tuition fees back, where they must juggle the costs and risks of self-employment.
For those seeking help, it’s a lottery: waiting lists tell us how long people wait; however they do not give any insight into how consistent services are, what kind of choices people can make about the type of therapy they receive or what fees people encounter with charity services.
With the Scottish Government’s budget now delivered, Jamie is calling for leaders to use funding differently— to increase investment in therapy services and to rethink the design of the system itself. This is in line with calls from Audit Scotland, the public spending watchdog, who have described the healthcare system as a whole as under strain, with significant budgetary and operational challenges. They have also called for reform, including innovative and locally tailored solutions, to improve outcomes across health services.
The current figures and financial decisions may paint a frustrating picture, but they also highlight an opportunity: to make different choices about how things are done. Reforming how mental health support is delivered would not only shorten waiting times but also make care more accessible and equitable for all, Kinlochan argues.
Jamie, who established Hopeful Spaces, a community therapy service in Paisley, sees firsthand the potential of local, accessible mental health support. Speaking about the voluntary service he has set up at the Tannahill Centre in Paisley, he said:
“We’ve shown that by embedding counselling into communities, we are reducing barriers while the current system puts barriers in place. We would all benefit from a coordinated strategy on counselling that connects decision makers in education, healthcare, and community services. Rather than do the same thing over and over again, expecting different results, Scotland has the chance to lead the way in making counselling a core part of our public health. That’s why I am calling on the Scottish Government to join up all of the dots to make it possible.”
Notes to editors:
[1] Psychological Therapies Waiting Times - Scottish Government - 03 December 2024
[2] Scottish Government Budget - Scottish Government - 04 December 2024
[3] Health and Care Experience Survey - Scottish Government - 28 November 2024
[4] Counselling courses and fees - University of Strathclyde Counselling Course , University of Aberdeen Counselling Course, University of Edinburgh Counselling Course
[5] Counselling job vacancies across Scotland - Counselling job opportunities in Glasgow, Counselling job opportunities in Edinburgh , Counselling job opportunities in Aberdeen
[6] NHS in Scotland 2024: Finance and performance - Audit Scotland - 03 December 2024
[7] Jamie Kinlochan, a therapist and campaigner, was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for creating a unique support initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic. With over 2,000 therapy sessions delivered, he combines frontline experience with innovative thinking to advocate for accessible and equitable mental health care.
[8] For further comment or to arrange an interview with Jamie Kinlochan, please contact on jamie@jamiekinlochan.com or 07900 930 584