Emotional Problem Solving [EPS] was launched on 11th September 2006 by Lavinia Dowling, a qualified psychiatric nurse. She had previously been working in Primary Care [NHS] assessing client's mental health and their needs who had been referred by GPs. Due to limited, or, in some cases, no resources to refer on to, it quickly became apparent that there was a large volume of clients who had mental ill health due to low self esteem [mental immunity]. It became apparent there was a need for a service to be provided for those suffering with mental ill health.

There had been proposals put forward. In 2007, the Depression Report suggested that by providing more money to pay for more psychologists and top up psychiatric nurses training could provide more talking therapy. Despite the attraction of reducing the psychatric drug bill, it was too costly with the expectation of each client entering a year's therapy. Worse, there were not enough psychologists or psychitric nurses!

Government also [slyly the day they went on Easter leave not being available for comment] decided in the same year to announce at the Bournemouth Conference to put CBT on computer in every surgery and train up surgery admin staff to assist clients. No PC can assess a client's body language or mood other than by what a client taps into the screen. Needless to say this idea has not worked but cost hugely.

Society is slowly changing their attitude [by the decade sadly] about Mental Health. We are now looking to implement CBT as the talking therapy of choice. It is not as expensive as tablets, but does not suit every client. Whilst the Government state they are keen for outside agencies to support the NHS with offer of talking therapies, it is very difficult to fit the set criteria making it almost impossible for other alternative therapies to be considered. This makes a mockery for the written and verbal statements that we "give patients choice" by "empowering" them.

Therapies can only work if individuals change their way of thinking and use the tools taught. However, once a client is discharged, there is usually no further support for when the gremlins of life wait at the door of discharge. Further more, clients find it difficult to believe they can do the therapy themselves when in a regular programme which highlights their poor self esteem.

EPS was born by recognising that all client's mental immunity was low which needed repairing swiftly before the therapy could take place. Further more, that all clients were different and worked their way differently through solutions. Usually they come for help as they wish to retain independance but get swept into a programme learning to become dependant upon the therapist. EPS was keen to promote independance from day one, always reminding the client that they had choice and an opinion that should be respected and valued, as well as maintaining a holistic empathetic and challenging approach. Clients have always been asked to give feedback at the end of each session and this continues today with every client as a minimum standard of good practise. A closure questionnaire is also encouraged to every client.

It is clear that unless we help individuals repair their self esteem [mental immunity], their mental health will deteriorate to ill health and then illness which is a huge burden on families, business, and the economy. It makes sense to invest in clients when they are in primary care suffering with mental ill health. At present, Emotional Problem Solving is the only known mental health agency promoting this with the appropriate tools.