[Confrontation instead of avoidance. Why anxiety patients should face the causes]

Psychiatric management forms the basis of any integrated psychiatric treatment. It serves to maximize the patient's level of performance, safety and quality of life. It also involves the patient's family members--who are usually indirectly affected by the disorder and may provide support during the course of treatment--in the therapeutic strategy. The psychiatric management of anxiety disorders can be effectively carried out, also by the family doctor familiar with mental disorders, since the GP is usually the first primary care instance to be approached by the patient, who assumes an underlying organic cause rather than a mental problem. Within the framework of psychiatric management, the family doctor should be kept fully informed of the individual steps in the treatment strategy, and coordinate the necessary interventions by other care providers. By taking psychoeducative measures he can already initiate effective treatment, and may create a positive atmosphere in which treatment-requiring anxiety can be openly discussed and perhaps partly resolved. Talking to the patient about early symptoms may help to avoid severe relapses. Psychiatric management as part of the general practitioner's activities helps achieve the goal of integrating the treatment of patients with anxiety disorders in the doctor's office.