%0 Journal Article
%T The in-house psychologist: do we speak the same language? Short report of a qualitative practice project
%A Birgitte Schoenmakers
%A Jan De Lepeleire
%J Health Psychology Research
%D 2013
%I 
%R 10.4081/hpr.2013.e9
%X Interdisciplinary collaboration is gaining importance. Although general practices (GP¡¯s) have a comprehensive experience in collaboration with psychologists, research on this topic is scarce. In house referrals to a psychologist are assumed to lower the thresholds for patients and GP¡¯s. In this study it was investigated whether the GP¡¯s reasons to refer in were accordance with the treatment strategy of the residing psychologist. The study is performed in a retrospective, observational cross section design. The studied population were the residing psychologist and GP¡¯s. Both were asked to complete a questionnaire. Outcome measures where the referral reasons of the GP¡¯s and the treatment strategy of the psychologist. A total sample of 92 patients of 6 GP¡¯s was studied. Over 60% of the patients were referred for counseling but only in 25% of the cases this proposal was carried out by the psychologist. Overall, the referral reasons of the GP¡¯s were not in accordance with the treatment strategy of the psychologist. A close collaboration and communication between general practitioners and psychologists is both difficult and indispensable. This practice research demonstrated that the referral motives of the GP¡¯s usually do not correspond to the treatment policy of the psychologist. This observation is partly explained by a lack of understanding of the GP in the treatment strategies of the psychologists. Another part of the explanation is that there is a pre-selection of the GPs referrals rather influenced by patient characteristics than by pathology.
%K primary health care
%K mental health services
%K general practice
%U http://www.pagepressjournals.org/index.php/hpr/article/view/635