Despite a promise given by the government to improve access to talking therapies, patients still have to wait a long time.

Thousands of people suffering from mental conditions such as depression have a long wait period of close to half a year in some cases. This is before they get access to an NHS counselor.

Ministers now want to launch a new vision for mental health services which will reduce the £12 billion cost of sickness absence due to the mental conditions annually.

In a previous bid, the government had announced a £170 million program which trained therapists. The therapists were trained in order to reduce doctor’s reliance on prescribing antidepressants to their patients.

However, there are a number of local health authorities in England that have reported wait periods of six months until a patient can see a counselor.

A magazine concerned with health insurance, issued freedom of information requests and got evidence confirming the same.

The information suggested that out of 90 primary care trusts that it questioned, nearly 30 listed a wait period of 3 months or more for patients suffering from mild to chronic depression.