Behavioral Health Services in Primary Care: A New Perspective for Treating Depression

This article attempts to provide information, inspiration, and practical guidelines for mental health professionals who want to work with primary care providers. Depression is an ideal initial focus in starting primary care behavioral services because (1) the majority of currently available efficacy studies on primary care behavioral hearth interventions concern depression and (2) depression is highly prevalent in the primary care setting. Several large clinical trials indicate that on-site mental health services help primary care providers improve quality of care to depressed primary care patients. This article examines five key questions and suggests two service delivery models to help mental health providers plan initiatives that Integrate medical and behavioral health care in the primary care setting.