Preface

Summary

We hope this book will prove to be an important resource for anyone interested in mental health in primary care settings, including primary care practitioners with a special interest in mental health, mental health practitioners with a special interest in primary care, health service planners, commissioners and policy-makers. It covers the range of common mental health problems found in primary care, and gives up-to-date guidance on approaches to prevention and treatment, training, research and evidencebased practice.

Part I covers the conceptual basis of primary care mental health and overarching themes, including international policy perspectives, epidemiology, sociology, the patient's perspective and classification. In Part II, individual chapters address well recognised clinical syndromes, including depression, anxiety, psychosis and eating disorders, but also broader areas of practice, such as perinatal health, sexual problems, medically unexplained symptoms, and problems affecting older people, younger people and minority ethnic groups.

Part III addresses issues of policy and practice, including quality improvement, service organisation and multidisciplinary working. Finally Part IV touches on reflective practice, including teaching and learning, the generalist perspective, evidence-based practice, and the mental health of practitioners themselves. The UK context is described in detail, along with a range of international insights into practice and policy.

Each part of the book has a brief introduction written by the editors.