THE North-East is suffering from a major shortage of psychological therapists.

Nationally, more than 5,000 staff have been identified as working in the field, which can be more effective than drug treatments.

But the region has well below average for the number of clinical psychologists, although it fares better for psychotherapists, graduate workers and counsellors, says a report.

The findings have been published by the Mental Health Observatory, which collates and analyses national data and is based at the North-East Public Health Observatory, in Stockton.

The report said: "Psychological therapies in mental health care are effective, popular with service users and for some types of mental illness have been shown to have more enduring benefits than drug treatments."

It added: "Modern mental health services cannot function without adequate psychological therapy resources."

National statistics have revealed a rise in the number of people living with neurotic disorders receiving drug treatments.

However, the number of those undergoing psychological therapies have stayed constant.

The therapies are used to treat ailments such as anxiety, panic, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive and post-traumatic stress disorders and schizophrenia.

Experts say that the ideal number of qualified psychologists and assistant psychologists per 100,000 population should be 18.8 and 4.4 respectively, higher for socially deprived areas.

The figures for the North-East are 5.9 and 2.1.

The report identified where the psychological staff work, including GP surgeries, hospital wards, in the community including with homeless people, and shows large regional variations.

It also said substantial numbers of counsellors and psychotherapists work outside the NHS, funded through charities or even patients.

"The total number of staff available appears to be well below what is required.

"The variation between regions, particularly in clinical psychologist provision, is so large as to indicate that major interventions to expand the numbers of available qualified staff would be needed to achieve anything like uniform national access to adequate levels of service.

"In any area, it is important to provide both sufficient numbers and an appropriate mix of skill levels."

The report has been published nationally for health trusts to compare and plan future services.