Mental disorders in primary care

About this book

Nearly half of all individuals who seek care for common mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse consult a primary care doctor rather than a psychiatrist or other mental health care professional. What impact does this reality have on the overall well-being of our population, our medical system, and our health care economics? The nation's move toward managed care has placed increasing responsibility on the primary care physician as gatekeeper of all health care services. Do doctors have adequate training to recognize and provide appropriate guidance for patients who need mental health care? The most prominent figures in mental health research provide perspective on these issues as they summarize the current body of research on the recognition, treatment, and treatment outcomes for psychiatric disorders in adult and pediatric primary care settings. The studies presented address the relevant questions, including how many people seek care for mental illness from their primary care doctors?; which forms of psychological illness are most common in medical settings?; how do culture and race affect how illness is presented?; what is the relationship between mental and medical disorders?; how do doctors identify and treat mental illness?; and how effective are the current treatment methods? In addition to presenting the state of the art, Mental Disorders in Primary Care provides a practical framework to help future researchers obtain meaningful answers to the many important questions facing this field in the coming years. This volume is the most comprehensive of its kind to date, compiling over thirty years of international research and including extensive bibliographies. It presents issues and information relevant to everyone in the medical community - researchers, physicians, mental health professionals, and health care administrators.