Professional Members
We support both claimants and professionals. These are just some of the organisations who have subscribed to Benefits and Work:
- Royal College of Nursing
- Spinal Injuries Association
- Chesterfield Law Centre
- Stephenson’s Solicitors
- Birmingham Citizens Advice Bureau
- Manchester City Council Sensory Provision Team
Don't lose out just because the system isn't fair.
Are you making a Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claim or appeal? Or being transferred from Incapacity Benefit to ESA?
Are you worried that the forms are complex and unclear, the medicals may be rushed and inaccurate and the decisions unfair? If so, use our expert, step-by-step guides and give yourself the best possible chance of getting your legal entitlement.
We’ll warn you of pitfalls, offer you specialist tips and tactics and guide you through every part of this bewildering process.
Disability Living Allowance >
Learn how to complete every box in the disability living allowance (DLA) claim pack. Prepare for a medical visit. Represent yourself at a DLA appeal tribunal.
Register for FREE DLA HINTS & TIPS
Employment and Support Allowance >
Take our free ESA test . Learn how to complete your questionnaire. Find out what questions you'll be asked at your medical. Learn how to appeal.
Register for FREE ESA HINTS & TIPS
Personal Independence Payment >
Keep up with all the news about PIP.
Find out about our PIP training for advisors and support workers.
PIP points PIP timetable
Training >
Find out more about our open training and in-house training courses.
We're currently running open PIP training days around the country
26 October 2007
An army of 3,600 people are to be trained in cognitive behavioural therapy in order to deliver the treatment to almost a million people suffering from depression and anxiety over the next four years. Announcing the move, health secretary Alan Johnson claimed that the £170 million cost would be paid for out of savings that will result from 25,000 fewer people with mental health conditions claiming benefits
Cognitive behavioural therapy usually involves a course of 6-12 meetings with a trained therapist. The treatment deals with solving current problems rather than trying to discover the past causes of current feelings or behaviour. According to NICE it is as effective, but no more effective, than drug treatments for conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Many claimants will welcome the possibility of receiving such treatment, which is currently often unavailable from GPs surgeries or subject to a waiting list of 18 months or more.
However, there is concern that CBT may become a one size fits all remedy offered to anyone reporting a mental health condition. Not everyone with depression or anxiety will benefit from this type of quick-fix therapy. Even those who do may find that their symptoms return after a short time if the underlying causes have not been addressed.
There are also concerns about the level of training and experience that the new wave of therapists will have and at the role that unqualified private sector Pathways to Work personal advisers may have in referring claimants for therapy.