IN MY VIEW... Face to face always beats a screen

SOME good news for women experiencing menopause symptoms, with last month’s announcement that under proposed new guidelines, the NHS will be able to offer them talking therapy instead of, or in addition to, hormone replacement therapy.

This would take the form of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which has been shown to help with symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats.

As someone with a keen interest in therapy — when I first started out I seriously considered training to be a psychoanalyst — I welcome this move.

But where are the resources for this additional care to be found?

There is already a critical shortage of trained therapists, and while an option may be to offer CBT online (online versions of CBT have been shown to be effective) there is no substitute for sitting with and talking to a psychotherapist face to face — as is also true with general practice.

It is a matter of great regret that this personal contact is such a scarce resource and at the risk of sounding like a scratched record: those in charge of NHS workforce planning really need to step up.