Collaborative Medicine Case Studies: Evidence in Practice (2008)

This timely and important work looks at the collaborative health care model for the delivery of mental health care in a primary care setting. This has become the ideal model for the treatment of comorbid medical and psychiatric or psychological disorders. There is also an increased awareness that pharmacological intervention, the most frequently delivered intervention for psychological disorders, is often of limited effectiveness without concurrent specific psychological intervention. Further, Kessler shows that most psychological care these days is delivered through primary care--patients prefer to receive psychological care in that setting, and if they are referred elsewhere, it becomes less likely that they will follow through. In sum, moving mental health care into primary care has been shown to improve both the medical and psychological outcomes. The book includes more than two dozen case studies, co-written by clinical psychologists and primary care physicians. It is essential reading for any psychology practitioner in a clinical setting, as well as for health care administrators.