Management of depression and anxiety in primary care practice

Skillful management of depression and anxiety will greatly increase the primary physician's therapeutic impact on his practice. He will, as his skills increase, become a resource person who is able to provide a broader spectrum of medical service to his patients. If family practice is to grow as a legitimate field, its practitioners will need to include the treatment of all of the common disorders in their therapeutic armamentarium, psychiatric as well as organic. The referral of all significant emotional problems to a specialist clearly violates this concept. The primary care physician with proper training can become an effective source of mental health care and in so doing will provide his patients with effective treatment in a familiar, secure, and trusted milieu.