Mental health activities of family physicians

A questionnaire survey of residency trained graduates and nonresidency trained family physicians showed both groups reporting relatively infrequent practice of behavioral medicine. Referrals and counseling sessions/visits produce a combined total of 20 activities per month, or two to four percent of all patient encounters, even though the physicians in the sample reported that 33 percent of their diagnoses were behavioral/psychological. More than 85 percent of the physicians reported access to more than one mental health provider. The six most common health problems encountered in the office were depression, anxiety, obesity, marital discord, alcohol abuse, and sexual problems. Physicians responding to this survey expressed an interest in continuing education programs that emphasize individual, marital, and parenting counseling, and psychopharmacology. There is a major need to improve the mental health component of residency training, which will enable physicians to better manage psychosocial problems in practice settings.