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Talking therapy: impacts of a nationwide mental health service in England

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  • Oparina, Ekaterina
  • Krekel, Christian
  • Srisuma, Sorawoot

Abstract

Mental health problems impose significant costs, yet healthcare systems of-ten overlook them. We provide the first causal evidence on the effectiveness of a nationwide-scaled mental health service in England for treating depression and anxiety using non-experimental data and methods. We exploit over-subscription and resulting exogenous variation in waiting times across areas and time for identification, based on a novel dataset of over one million patients. We find that treatment improves mental health and reduces impairment in work and social life. We provide suggestive evidence that it enhances employment. Impacts vary across patients and services. Nevertheless, the programme is highly cost-effective.

Suggested Citation

  • Oparina, Ekaterina & Krekel, Christian & Srisuma, Sorawoot, 2024. "Talking therapy: impacts of a nationwide mental health service in England," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 126829, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:126829
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    1. Emma Sharland & Marta Rossa & Ted Dolby & Ekaterina Oparina & Rob Saunders & Daniel Ayoubkhani & Vahe Nifilyan & Klaudia Rzepnicka, 2025. "The effect of adult psychological therapies on employment and earnings: Evidence from England," CEP Discussion Papers dp2070, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    mental health; psychological therapies; quasi-natural experiment; policy evaluation; machine learning; cost-benefit analysis; wellbeing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • D00 - Microeconomics - - General - - - General

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