The clinical psychologist in a health centre: one year's work

The Livingston integrated health services project is an attempt to provide a fully integrated area health service with special emphasis on developing multidisciplinary community health teams. As part of this experiment a clinical psychologist was appointed to work in general practice. Ninety-four patients with behavioural, emotional, and cognitive problems were referred in the first year (1% of the 10 000 patients registered at the practice). The psychologist thus provided treatment for some patients who would otherwise have been seen by a general practitioner with neither the time nor the training to deal adequately with their problems.