Counselling and Psychotherapy in Primary Health Care


Book Description

From small beginnings in the 1970s, counselling in primary care has now become an established area of practice. It is well recognised that a significant proportion of patients in primary health care have psychological difficulties which are treatable at the 'coal face' before they develop into major problems. Mental health services can now reach a wider population more quickly with cost-effective therapeutic benefits. This text examines the intra - and inter-personal dynamics of primary care essential for counsellors and psythotherapists working in health centres and considers the advantage of multi-disciplinary and multi-agency collaboration. The progressive approach will be of interest to all who work in primary care. They will recognise in it many of their day-to-day working dilemmas, especially in trying to balance the tension between commitment to individual patients and the demands of the wider organisation. Case illustrations are used to demonstrate the challenges and teamwork opportunities for both counsellors and doctors who work collaboratively. This book is essential reading for counsellors and psychotherapists who work in primary care and for the doctors and health authorities who employ them.




Common Mental Health Disorders


Book Description

Bringing together treatment and referral advice from existing guidelines, this text aims to improve access to services and recognition of common mental health disorders in adults and provide advice on the principles that need to be adopted to develop appropriate referral and local care pathways.




Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, Second Edition


Book Description

This acclaimed work, now in a new edition, has introduced tens of thousands of clinicians to mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for depression, an 8-week program with proven effectiveness. Step by step, the authors explain the "whys" and "how-tos" of conducting mindfulness practices and cognitive interventions that have been shown to bolster recovery from depression and prevent relapse. Clinicians are also guided to practice mindfulness themselves, an essential prerequisite to teaching others. Forty-five reproducible handouts are included. Purchasers get access to a companion website featuring downloadable audio recordings of the guided mindfulness practices (meditations and mindful movement), plus all of the reproducibles, ready to download and print in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. A separate website for use by clients features the audio recordings only. New to This Edition *Incorporates a decade's worth of developments in MBCT clinical practice and training. *Chapters on additional treatment components: the pre-course interview and optional full-day retreat. *Chapters on self-compassion, the inquiry process, and the three-minute breathing space. *Findings from multiple studies of MBCT's effectiveness and underlying mechanisms. Includes studies of adaptations for treating psychological and physical health problems other than depression. *Audio files of the guided mindfulness practices, narrated by the authors, on two separate Web pages--one for professionals, together with the reproducibles, and one just for clients. See also the authors' related titles for clients: The Mindful Way through Depression demonstrates these proven strategies in a self-help format, with in-depth stories and examples. The Mindful Way Workbook gives clients additional, explicit support for building their mindfulness practice, following the sequence of the MBCT program. Plus, for professionals: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy with People at Risk of Suicide extends and refines MBCT for clients with suicidal depression.




What Is Psychotherapy?


Book Description

An in-depth look at a much misunderstood practice, offering a fresh viewpoint on how this science can be a universally effective route to our better selves.




Medical Family Therapy


Book Description

“High praise to Hodgson, Lamson, Mendenhall, and Crane and in creating a seminal work for systemic researchers, educators, supervisors, policy makers and financial experts in health care. The comprehensiveness and innovation explored by every author reflects an in depth understanding that reveals true pioneers of integrated health care. Medical Family Therapy: Advances in Application will lead the way for Medical Family Therapists in areas just now being acknowledged and explored.” - Tracy Todd, PhD, LMFT, Executive Director of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Integrated, interdisciplinary health care is growing in stature and gaining in numbers. Systems and payers are facilitating it. Patients and providers are benefitting from it. Research is supporting it, and policymakers are demanding it. The emerging field of Medical Family Therapy (MedFT) is contributing greatly to these developments and Medical Family Therapy: Advanced Applications examines its implementation in depth. Leading experts describe MedFT as it is practiced today, the continuum of services provided, the necessary competencies for practitioners, and the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of health that the specialty works to integrate. Data-rich chapters model core concepts such as the practitioner as scientist, the importance of context in health care settings, collaboration with families and communities, and the centrality of the relational perspective in treatment. And the book's wide-spectrum coverage takes in research, training, financial, and policy issues, among them: Preparing MedFTs for the multiple worlds of health care Extending platforms on how to build relationships in integrated care Offering a primer in program evaluation for MedFTs Ensuring health equity in MedFT research Identifying where policy and practice collide with ethics and integrated care Recognizing the cost-effectiveness of family therapy in health care With its sophisticated insights into the current state – and the future – of healthcare reform, Medical Family Therapy: Advanced Applications is essential reading for researchers and practitioners in the fields of clinical psychology, counseling, family therapy, healthcare policy, psychiatric nursing, psychiatry, public health, and social work.




The Behavioral Health Specialist in Primary Care


Book Description

Patients with chronic conditions often need psychosocial support and brief counseling to help them make the lifestyle and behavioral changes required to prevent disease complications. This innovative text, with contributions from respected clinicians and researchers in all arenas of behavioral health, provides comprehensive training for all health professionals including those in medicine, nursing, social work, mental health, and clinical and health psychology who desire targeted evidence-based training in Behavioral Health skills . Rich case examples drawn from typical patient presentations demonstrate the relationship between physical and psychological health and the complexity of behavior change in chronic illness. This text is a timely, relevant and practical resource for all members of the primary care team. It prepares team members to work in the model of patient-centered integrated care in accordance with the recommendations of the Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) medical home standards for identifying patient needs and providing coordinated and comprehensive patient care. It focuses on knowledge and skills needed for working with the most common chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, chronic pain, cardiovascular conditions, sleep disorders, geriatric conditions, cancer-related conditions, and substance abuse. It includes chapters on epidemiological trends in chronic illness and systems medicine. Theories of health behavior and behavior change and evidence-based interventions provide a foundation for skill development, followed by detailed coverage of the requirements for behavioral management of specific chronic conditions. Sample referrals and consultation notes provide concrete examples of how the behavioral health specialist might respond to a referral. . Key Features: Provides comprehensive graduate-level training for the role of Behavioral Health Specialist Describes the health promotion and counseling skills needed to function as part of an integrated health team Focuses on proficiencies needed for working with common chronic conditions Addresses the psychosocial components of primary care disorders Includes case examples demonstrating the relationship between physical and psychological health and the complexity of behavior change in chronic illness







Cancer Care for the Whole Patient


Book Description

Cancer care today often provides state-of-the-science biomedical treatment, but fails to address the psychological and social (psychosocial) problems associated with the illness. This failure can compromise the effectiveness of health care and thereby adversely affect the health of cancer patients. Psychological and social problems created or exacerbated by cancer-including depression and other emotional problems; lack of information or skills needed to manage the illness; lack of transportation or other resources; and disruptions in work, school, and family life-cause additional suffering, weaken adherence to prescribed treatments, and threaten patients' return to health. Today, it is not possible to deliver high-quality cancer care without using existing approaches, tools, and resources to address patients' psychosocial health needs. All patients with cancer and their families should expect and receive cancer care that ensures the provision of appropriate psychosocial health services. Cancer Care for the Whole Patient recommends actions that oncology providers, health policy makers, educators, health insurers, health planners, researchers and research sponsors, and consumer advocates should undertake to ensure that this standard is met.




Doing Therapy Briefly


Book Description

With lengthy waiting lists, reduced resources and demands for more clearly defined performance outcomes, more and more counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists are finding themselves under pressure to provide short-term treatment for their patients. In this book the authors argue that to work briefly counsellors need not just use a diluted version of their usual longer-term therapeutic model. They suggest that to work briefly is to work differently and they present the basic principles underlying a new trans-theoretical model.




The Psychological Treatment of Depression


Book Description

'A clear, rigorous account of cognitive behavioural methods for treating depression.' - British Journal of Psychiatry The use of behavioural and cognitive techniques for treating depression has yielded exciting results. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is as effective in the short term as anti-depressant drugs and has longer-lasting effects than medication. This book brings together assessment and treatment techniques of proven efficacy, describing them in usable detail and setting them in the context of current psychological theories of depression. It is an invaluable guide to practitioners wishing to make use of CBT.