The Yorkshire and Humber Improvemnt Partnership(YHIP) has already made a strong commitment to supporting the delivery of IAPT and DRE within its region. Through a partnership between the two programmes, we intend to deliver an innovative approach to specifically test and promote solutions using methods of CBT therapies by spiritual leaders within the Pakistani communities within the cities of Bradford and Leeds.

The project aims to deliver recognition and assessment of anxiety and depression in the Pakistani community by training community leaders such as Imams (priests) from mosques and madrassa’s (spiritual teaching schools) across the two cities.  This is due to the contact and respect theses spiritual leaders have within the Pakistani community.  On many occasions they are the first contact for people from these communities who show signs of mental illness.  In many ways the leaders unknowingly offer forms of therapy, such as talking therapy without realizing the significant impact they have on people’s lives.  This project aims to enhance that understanding and deliver a higher level of care at the first contact (via treatment, information and sign posting into mainstream services).

The aim is to train a minimum of twelve leaders in total, three male imams and three female scholars across both the cities.  Funding will be allocated through the Yorkshire and Humber Strategic Health Authority (SHA), and small amounts of grant funding via the Improving Access for Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. The project seeks to achieve enhanced health, wellbeing and inclusion outcomes in line with the prevailing policy context, as well as the increased delivery of CBT training both low and high level within the community.

The project is in line with National IAPT programme, including the National Social Inclusion Programme, Delivering Race Equality (DRE) and Equalities.

The intended strategic outcomes of the project are;

• to raise awareness of psychological therapies within the Pakistani community
• empower leaders within the community to deliver awareness and recognition of low level intensity type CBT symptoms so they can signpost or refer people into mainstream IAPT services 
• act as guides as first contact and increase confidence within the Pakistani communities to acknowledge mental illness but not in the traditional limited cultural view but of more mainstream services
• increasing the delivery and promotion of low intensity type CBT therapies within the Pakistani community
• contributing to a body of evidence regarding the implementation of the IAPT programme
• improving clinical outcomes for members of the Pakistani community.