Could counselling be making you sadder?

NHS Talking Therapies has been accessed by millions struggling with mental health issues... but its results can be hit and miss

- BY DR RAJ PERSAUD, CONSULTANT PSYCHIATRIST

All treatments have side-effects, even therapy, and in the wrong hands, it could actually leave you worse off than if you'd never stumbled on to the psychiatrist's couch.

NHS Talking Therapies, formerly known as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, sees GPs referring patients with anxiety, depression and similar illnesses, to a psychological therapist. They will have completed a postgraduate diploma or certificate, requiring around a year of university-style training. Around two million people access the service every year.