Managing Mental Health Problems. A Practical Guide for Primary Care
Managing Mental Health Problems. A Practical Guide for Primary Care
Managing Mental Health Problems.
A Practical Guide for Primary Care
Nick Kates, Marilyn Craven
Hogrefe & Huber Publishers, 12 Bruce Park Ave, Toronto, ON M4P 2S3
1998/390 pp
Strengths
Practical, useful instruction
Weaknesses
Not comprehensive
For a long time, managing mental health problems in primary care has been poorly understood and criticized by physicians not principally involved in primary care. I believe this misunderstanding stems in part from not having defined the skill set unique to family practice. Therefore, the authors have done much to fill that gap in the primary care literature by publishing this book.
The authors are well-known to many family physicians through their links to the psychiatry and family practice departments at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. Their involvement in fostering shared mental health care anticipates the growing reality that family physicians are being asked to provide more mental health care. This book offers a solid, practical working definition of the skill set necessary to meet that challenge.
Particularly useful are the many lists, tables, medication summaries, and information sheets that can be useful as patient handouts. Each chapter concludes with a list of “reasonable expecations of the primary care provider.” These are behavioural objectives that, taken collectively, should be a “core curriculum” for any practising family physician.
There are some omissions. The norepinephrine-dopamine modulator class of antidepressents is not covered. The chapter “Mental Health Problems in the Older Patient” deals only with dementia and depression. Some of the management recommendations cannot be followed because the services recommended are not available. For example, mood disorder clinics and basic psychologist and social work support are not available in many parts of rural Canada.
Aside from that, I know I will refer to this practical, useful textbook often.