Your Doctor

& Your Health

aAn Integrated Approach to Physical Health and Mental Health Care

... Mental health and emotional problems are real, painful and can be severe. They can lead to school failure, loss of friends, loss of work or family conflicts. While some people are still apprehensive about discussing mental health issues, or problems that are affecting their mental health with family or friends, they can discuss them with their primary care doctor. There may also be times that individuals may not be comfortable in discussing with their doctor their feelings, emotional problems or problems in their personal life. However, your primary care physician can treat not only health problems but also mental health problems and conditions such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder that may or may not be associated to your physical health condition. Primary care physicians are trained to identify signs and symptoms of mental health conditions. They also can refer you and link you to specialized mental health services when the mental health conditions require intensive outpatient or inpatient care.

... In some cases, your primary care doctor or a health care provider on a routine check-up or follow up visits for a phsycial health condition may ask you about your mood, thoughts or behavior. Your doctor may bring it up during a routine medical appointment if you seem to be sad, nervous or upset, or you may decide to schedule an appointment with your family doctor to talk about your mental or emotional concerns. In most cases the primary care doctor can treat mental health conditions with medication and may refer you for counseling, and other support services. Furthermore, because some mental health conditions may require specialized care that your doctor’s office may not provide, you may be referred to a mental health provider, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other clinician for further evaluation and treatment needs not provided by your doctor.

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Salud+HealthInfo is for information and educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for personal medical attention, diagnosis or hands-on treatment. If you are concerned abut your health or that of a child, please consult your family's physician or health provider immediately and do not try to diagnose yourself. Salud+Health Info is published and distributed free of charge by Info Option Network (ION) Publishing Company. Copyright © 2001-2008 Info Option Network

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