Last week saw the official opening of the TalkingSpace service in Oxfordshire. The service provides support to people suffering with mild to moderate depression or anxiety and is provided by OBMH in partnership with Oxfordshire Mind.

TalkingSpace opened for referrals on 5th May and has since been rolled out across Oxfordshire. It has been fully operational since 1st September. The service receives 200 referrals a week from GPs and delivers a range of Cognitive Behavioural Therapies (CBT) and counselling.

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of national MIND spoke at the opening and praised the level of commitment from staff in the service and the positive partnership working between OBMH, Oxfordshire Mind and also Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust who commission the service as part of the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme.

Karen Kearley, GP Lead for IAPT and Clinical Lecturer, Oxford University officially opened the service by cutting the ribbon and said the following “This is a moment to celebrate the successful implementation of TalkingSpace which has greatly increased the provision of Talking Therapies for patients in Oxfordshire. Much hard work and strong collaboration between Mind, OBMH, Oxfordshire PCT and patients has contributed to its success so far.”