Neighbourhood socioeconomic deprivation associated with poorer psychological therapy outcomes for PTSD: an audit of a single NHS Talking Therapies (IAPT) service

Richardson, Thomas, Ferrie, Olivia, Smith, Dianna, Ellis-Nee, Colm, Smart, Tanya, Gray, Ellenor, Roberts, Neil, Delgadillo, Jaime and Simmons-Dauvin, Miriam 2025. Neighbourhood socioeconomic deprivation associated with poorer psychological therapy outcomes for PTSD: an audit of a single NHS Talking Therapies (IAPT) service. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist 18 , e9. 10.1017/S1754470X25000029

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Abstract

Economic variables such as socioeconomic status and debt are linked with an increased risk of a range of mental health problems and appear to increase the risk of developing of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous research has shown that people living in more deprived areas have more severe symptoms of depression and anxiety after treatment in England’s NHS Talking Therapies services. However, no research has examined if there is a relationship between neighbourhood deprivation and outcomes for PTSD specifically. This study was an audit of existing data from a single NHS Talking Therapies service. The postcodes of 138 service users who had received psychological therapy for PTSD were used to link data from the English Indices of Deprivation. This was analysed with the PCL-5 measure of PTSD symptoms pre- and post-treatment. There was no significant association between neighbourhood deprivation measures on risk of drop-out from therapy for PTSD, number of sessions received or PTSD symptom severity at the start of treatment. However, post-treatment PCL-5 scores were significantly more severe for those living in highly deprived neighbourhoods, with lower estimated income and greater health and disability. There was also a non-significant trend for the same pattern based on employment and crime rates. There was no impact of access to housing and services or living environment. Those living in more deprived neighbourhoods experienced less of a reduction in PTSD symptoms after treatment from NHS Talking Therapies services. Given the small sample size in a single city, this finding needs to be replicated with a larger sample.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Medicine
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
ISSN:	1754-470X
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	6 March 2025
Date of Acceptance:	6 January 2025
Last Modified:	10 Mar 2025 11:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/176685

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