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Clinical Psychologists in Primary Care Settings

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Handbook of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings

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Abstract

Clinical psychologists desiring to work in a medical setting targeting an extremely diverse set of patients, medical conditions, and psychological problems need look no further than primary care. Primary care providers (PCPs) offer frontline assessment and treatment for most medical concerns, serving patients throughout the life span with interventions that include prevention, tertiary care, and chronic disease management. Even psychiatric conditions, often assumed to belong in the realm of specialty behavioral health clinics, comprise a major domain of primary care service delivery. For example, the majority of psychotropic medications are prescribed by primary care physicians and not by psychiatrists; nearly half of individuals who receive treatment for behavioral health conditions receive their care solely from their primary care provider (rather than specialty mental health), if they receive treatment at all. The National Comorbidity Study found that between 1990 and 1992, only 25 % of individuals with a serious psychiatric disorder received any professional assistance, and this increased slightly from 2001 to 2003 to 40 %. Additionally, it has been estimated that up to 70 % of primary care visits consist of a preventable illness often involving a health behavior. Although PCPs function as the primary behavioral health service provider for the majority of patients across the USA, barriers in time, training, and skill may impact the quality and amount of behavioral health care they provide.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Health Psychology Service, Wright-Patterson Medical Center, Wright-Patterson, 45433, AFB, OH, USA

    Anne C. Dobmeyer

  2. University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Academic Office 1, 12631 East 17th Avenue, 80045, Aurora, CO, USA

    Benjamin F. Miller

Authors
  1. Anne C. Dobmeyer
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  2. Benjamin F. Miller
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne C. Dobmeyer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases, National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Christine M. Hunter

  2. Patient-Centered Medical Home Branch, Clinical Support Division, Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, Virginia, USA

    Christopher L. Hunter

  3. Fletcher Allen Health Care, Inc., Montpelier, Vermont, USA

    Rodger Kessler

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Dobmeyer, A., Miller, B. (2014). Clinical Psychologists in Primary Care Settings. In: Hunter, C., Hunter, C., Kessler, R. (eds) Handbook of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09817-3_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09817-3_14

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