NICE anxiety guideline campaign

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) creates recommendations for care in the NHS. The NICE guideline for generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults was initially published in 2011 and has not been meaningfully updated since.  Although there have been a handful of surveillance and evidence reviews leading to minor modifications, these have not resulted in significant change. Without a comprehensive update, the treatment of anxiety will continue to be incompatible with other NICE mental health guidelines, based on out of date evidence and understanding of effective treatment and old versions diagnostic criteria.

Meanwhile, the number of adults who have a common mental health condition like anxiety has been steadily increasing. Despite NHS Talking Therapies receiving almost half a million referrals for either anxiety or stress related disorders in 2024-25, less than half of people that access treatment through NHS Talking Therapies ‘reliably recover’, meaning that they are no longer a clinical case and there has been a significant improvement in their condition (NHS Digital, 2025).

Crucially, the guideline only recommends two types of therapy for anxiety, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and applied relaxation. This severely limits the types of support patients with anxiety can access, including therapies that address the root causes of issues.

This matters because people seeking help for anxiety in the NHS deserve access to a range of effective treatments and care, that works for everyone regardless of their background or circumstances.

Our campaign progress 

On Tuesday, 17 March 2026, we wrote to NICE calling for them to update the guideline for generalised anxiety and panic disorder. We sent two letters to NICE, backed by over 70 stakeholders.

The joint statement that set out our concerns about the guideline and the need for it to be reviewed was widely backed by the sector, supported by over 45 organisations, academics and practitioners. This included support from all of our PCPB partners and leading organisations such as Mind and the Centre for Mental Health.

Read the campaign’s joint statement with the full list of signatories

We also sent a cross-party letter from over 20 policymakers, urging NICE to respond to our concerns and address them through a full and proper revision of the guideline. This was signed by parliamentarians from all major political parties, led by the Liberal Democrats spokesperson for mental health, Dr Danny Chambers.

Read the cross-party letter with the full list of signatories