Rennie pledges to double the number of people training as mental health counsellors
On a visit to Broughty Ferry on Friday with mental health activist, Ben Lawrie, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie committed to doubling the number of mental health counsellors in training.
The party’s manifesto will commit to:
- Double the number of people training on counselling courses;
- Offer £5,000 grants to students undertaking counselling courses so that a wider range of people are able to train and qualify;
- Add the counselling profession into NHS workforce planning systems to make surepeople have easier access to talking therapies and early interventions.
Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, Willie Rennie, said: “As we come out of the pandemic, it is time for Scotland to put the recovery first and fix our overwhelmed mental health services for good. Even before the pandemic struck we had a record number of children waiting over a year for help and the situation has worsened since.
“Our policy will dramatically expand the number of counsellors. New help to train will open it up to more people. We will add counsellors to NHS workforce planning so their skills can help more people. It will bring down waiting times and make it much easier to access services whenever and wherever you need it.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats have consistently championed our national mental health. We led Parliament in declaring a mental health crisis and secured £120 million more for services next year.
“A vote for Scottish Liberal Democrats is a vote to put recovery first and have needle-sharp focus on mental health.”
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