Talking Mental Health With Your Primary Care Doctor

"Each year Americans make an estimated 500 million visits to primary care doctors. In fact, the CDC found just over 85% of Americans had a visit with a doctor or health professional in the past year. Whether for annual checkups, illnesses, ailments, or other physical concerns, these visits are relatively routine and somewhat expected. Contrast that with the American Medical Association's finding that less than half of the 43 million adults identified with a mental illness receive treatment."

"The increasing number of Americans struggling with mental health challenges, combined with the ongoing shortage of behavioral health workers, has created an accessibility gap that shows no signs of slowing down. For these reasons and more, the collaborative care model of integrating behavioral health services into primary care is not only growing in popularity, but also yielding encouraging results. Patients can express their mental health concerns in an environment they're already accustomed to."

Americans make an estimated 500 million visits to primary care doctors each year, and just over 85% saw a doctor or health professional in the past year. Less than half of the 43 million adults with a mental illness and many of the 6 million affected children receive treatment. A shortage of behavioral health workers and rising mental health needs have created an accessibility gap. The collaborative care model integrates behavioral health into primary care, allowing patients to raise mental health concerns in familiar settings, access specialists faster, and receive more individualized, team-based care led by their physician. Bringing mental health into primary care can be challenging.

Read at Psychology Today