The indirect economic costs of mild-to-moderate mental disorders, in terms of lost productivity, unemployment, and sickness benefits claims have been estimated to be extremely high. Taking these costs into account, and offsetting them against the projected economic benefits of improved treatment for mild-to-moderate mental illness, has been used to drive investment in psychological therapies. In England in particular, this economic reasoning was used to make the case for the introduction of the Improved Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme.