1st Edition

What do I say next? Everyday Mental Health Conversations in Primary Care A Practical Guide

By Sophie Jadwiga Ball, Liz Moulton Copyright 2025
268 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
by CRC Press

268 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
by CRC Press

268 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
by CRC Press

A significant problem experienced by some GPs and many trainees and other primary care health professionals is the challenge of completing a useful and safe consultation with patients with mental health problems within the constraints of a standard-length appointment. These challenges may arise from a lack of specific expertise in this area, poor training in the relevant skills and, perhaps, the... Read more

Introduction

Section I

Introduction

Chapter 1 Data gathering

Chapter 2 Clinical management

Chapter 3 Mental health and the GP curriculum

Chapter 4 The theory behind the practice

Chapter 5 Sharing understanding using metaphors

Section II

Introduction

Chapter 6 Anxiety and stress

Chapter 7 Health anxiety

Chapter 8 Low mood and depression

Chapter 9 Young people

Chapter 10 Older adults

Chapter 11 Coping strategies that can cause problems

Chapter 12 Conversations where there is a context of trauma

Chapter 13 Conversations where there is not much time

Chapter 14 Colleagues

Final thoughts

Appendix I: Glossary of tools and terms

Appendix II: The RCGP curriculum for mental health

Index

Biography

Sophie Ball is a GP and Lead Medical Educator for the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, New Zealand.

Liz Moulton is a GP educator, appraiser, author and freelance GP, UK.

‘This is a brilliant book. It has an amazing collection of information and skills. This book helps us with the “What do I say next?” as often in primary care we sometimes don’t know. The book covers what we need to know about primary care mental health and distress. Importantly it comes at this from a clear primary care perspective rather than “psychiatry lite”. It shares many skills that help us get our patients back into “the river of life” which many of them are capable of achieving. As humans we all have the worst day(s) of our life and when our patients present with distress this is likely a detour from their usual and better days. This book will help you deal with those situations and assist us in the process of navigation back into their regular lives lived in the service of their values. A must have book for all primary care clinicians.’  - Bruce Arroll, Professor of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Auckland, New Zealand