Ministers should allow patients to use NHS cash to buy their own counselling care, a top think tank has said.

The Institute for Public Policy Research said that people who experience mental health problems should have more choice over the treatments they receive.

A paper by the think tank, published on Thursday, added that "personal recovery budgets" would extend choice and lead to a more personal approach for patients.

The call came a day after Labour promised pensioners more control over how cash allocated for social care is spent.

In an echo of the scheme being proposed by the IPPR, pensions secretary Alan Johnson unveiled a new pilot scheme which would allow the elderly to control up to £10,000 of care funds.

The Cabinet minister said that this "individual budget account" would revolutionise social care as the population gets older.

In its report, the IPPR indicated that the same arguments could be applied to mental health services.

"So far government policy has been focused on introducing choice in elective care, such as being able to choose what hospital you attend for surgery," said researcher Jennifer Rankin.

"Mental health is a test case for the choice agenda which to date has not had much to say about being more responsive to the needs of people experiencing mental health problems.

"Introducing personal recovery budgets could give real choice to people who have had few options and little control over accessing services.

"Mental health problems affect at least one in six people in the general population, as well as a high proportion of people who experience multiple forms of disadvantage.

"More choice holds out the prospect to improve services and ultimately help to improve our mental health."