Can Your Family Doctor Help with Mental Health Care Problems?

During the course of a lifetime most people experience periods of stress, depression, and anxiety as well as shorter term stress related manifestations such as insomnia and headache. Sometimes the burden of these problems can become overwhelming, requiring that short term help be sought. If you’re experiencing short term mental health care problems, is it best to see your family doctor or would a mental health professional give you better treatment?

While most people feel more comfortable dealing with someone they know when they’re having mental health care problems, your family doctor isn’t always the best choice. Family doctors usually see a variety of medical problems and often have busy schedules treating conventional medical problems making it difficult for them to provide adequate support and counseling for issues related to stress. Plus, family doctors are more likely to offer a prescription to solve a mental health problem rather than spending the time to conduct counseling which might allow resolution of the problem without drugs. A study conducted by Consumer Reports in 1995 showed that patients who went to a family doctor for a mental health problem were much more likely to receive drug treatment than those that went to a mental health specialist. (83% versus 20%). Plus, almost half of the people receiving drugs from their family doctor were not given counseling.

Even more disturbing is the fact that family doctors don’t always have the expertise to make the proper diagnosis when it comes to mental health care problems. Because they lack the in depth training in mental disorders that a mental health professional such as a psychologist or psychiatrist has, they may treat the wrong condition and even use the wrong medication in the wrong dosage.

If you’re suffering from a short term stress related problem such as situational anxiety or depression or are experiencing physical symptoms such as headache, your family doctor may be a viable choice for treatment since your physical symptoms may respond to conventional medications. Plus, you probably don’t need long term counseling since your problem is likely reversible and related to a particular short term problem in your life. In contrast, if you’re experiencing more severe, longer term mental health care problems, your family doctor may be a good starting point but you might ultimately benefit more from seeing a mental health care specialist who can provide a full range of counseling services.

Studies have shown that counseling really can help with mental health care problems so make sure the health care professional you choose gives you this option rather than simply treating you with a prescription.