Increased well-being from an £800 course of therapy was so large that it would take a pay rise of over £25,000 to achieve an equivalent increase in well-being.

Research by Chris Boyce of the University of Warwick and Alex Wood of the University of Manchester in the UK finds that psychological therapy could be 32 times more cost effective at making you happy than simply obtaining more money. After comparing large data sets of thousands of people, they showed that the increase in well-being from an £800 course of therapy was so large that it would take a pay rise of over £25,000 to achieve an equivalent increase in well-being.

Over the last 50 years developed countries have not seen any increases to national happiness in spite of huge economic gains. Mental health on the other hand appears to be deteriorating worldwide.

Chris Boyce: “We have shown that psychological therapy could be much more cost effective than financial compensation at alleviating psychological distress. This is not only important in courts of law, where huge financial awards are the default way in which pain and suffering are compensated, but has wider implications for public health and well-being.”

“Often the importance of money for improving our well-being and bringing greater happiness is vastly over-valued in our societies. The benefits of having good mental health, on the other hand, are often not fully appreciated and people do not realize the powerful effect that psychological therapy, such as non-directive counseling, can have on improving our well-being.”

I could not agree more!

Governments tend to pursue economic growth in the belief that it will raise the well-being of its citizens. Boyce and Wood’s research suggests that financial improvement only leads to tiny increases in happiness and is an inefficient way to increase the happiness of a population. Raises can be taken away as can jobs. Increased income does not always lead to increased job satisfaction.

On the other hand, psychological therapy often leads to increased job satisfaction and performance. Increasingly, employers are investing in therapy rather than raises to improve working conditions and increase production for the very reasons mentioned in the Boyce-Wood study – it’s much more economical and long lasting than occasional raises.

Perhaps policy makers concerned about improving the well-being of their constituents might consider increasing access and availability of mental health care rather than focusing only on increasing economic growth.

The research paper, entitled “Money or Mental Health: The Cost of Alleviating Psychological Distress with Monetary Compensation versus Psychological Therapy” is online at University of Warwick Press Release.