1st Edition
What do I say next? Everyday Mental Health Conversations in Primary Care A Practical Guide
A significant problem experienced by some GPs and many trainees 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 attitude that there is not much that the primary care practitioner can do to help.
This new book focuses on enhancing the repertoire of communication skills available for mental health consultation, providing a range of tools and techniques drawn from accepted models, including CBT, transactional analysis, dialectical behavioural therapy and acceptance commitment therapy, and illustrating how to apply these within a typical ten to twelve-minute primary care consultation.
Key features:
- enhances the repertoire of communication and consultation skills for primary care practitioners working in mental health consultations
- summaries and quick take home points aid rapid reference in the time-constrained consultation setting whether in person or virtual
- offers worked-through model consultations with a variety of patients, showing how to apply the tools and techniques described
- demonstrates how such consultations can be completed safely and effectively within a normal consultation time frame
Essential reading for all primary care practitioners in training and in practice, the book equips readers with the confidence and knowledge to provide excellent mental health care to their patients.
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
