Clinical Psychology in Primary Care - how can we afford to be without it?: Guidance for Clinical Commissioners and Integrated Care Systems
A briefing on best practice for clinical psychology in primary care.
01 March 2022
It is widely appreciated that the NHS needs to make a step change to address the growing unmet need for mental health and psychological therapy services.
There is also widespread recognition that even before the pandemic, services have not been able to meet the range of needs of those presenting to primary care and that significant gaps exist, particularly between IAPT/primary care mental health services and secondary care (Naylor et al., 2020).
This profoundly affects many patients leaving them with a poorer quality of life and health outcomes.
Some of these patients have needs that fall between existing mental health services; some have uncontrolled long-term conditions or persistent physical complaints that could be helped more effectively with a psychological approach.
In many instances there is an overlap between these groups. GPs and other primary care staff, particularly those who are new to their role, may not feel confident in managing the psychological content of many general practice consultations.
There is now a small but growing number of clinical psychologists embedded in the primary care team helping to meet these challenges.
This briefing is about how they can make a profound difference to both the patients and the practice.
It is based on the findings of a research and consultation project commissioned by the British Psychological Society's Division of Clinical Psychology, looking at current best practice for clinical psychology in primary care and its value.