Improving the mental health constitution : introducing a short circuit tool to aid patient understanding and dispel stigma

Introduction -- The short circuit theory -- The short circuit as a tool: a practical approach -- Mental illnesses in detail -- Physical illness with mental health connections -- Treating the patient -- Summary.

Patients with mental health issues present frequently in primary care and their consultations are often more challenging and time-consuming than those involving physical illness. For many patients there remains a significant stigma associated with mental ill-health and overcoming this adds further complexity to the consultation.

Improving the Mental Health Consultation provides a simple ‘short circuit’ tool to help GPs and other healthcare professionals to explain mental health problems simply and effectively to their patients. The tool is straightforward, easy to convey within the confines of a 10-minute consultation and extremely effective in helping to break down the stigma that patients often feel.

The tool has been developed and refined during over ten years of consultations in primary care. The detailed explanations of how to use the tool during the consultation, along with the extensive case studies, will help you to improve your mental health consultations and so help your patients deal better with their diagnosis.

From anxiety to OCD and chronic fatigue to fibromyalgia, the book also provides detailed coverage of diagnosis and classification using ICD-11 and DSM-IV, and management using the latest NICE guidelines.