Distress, disputes, drought and despair – practical strategies for busy GPs’ developing professional development for family physicians
This paper outlines the insights gained in the development of a course to assist GPs to gain better skills, as well as better remuneration for working with psychological strategies. The course covers the identification and management of common mental health disorders using focussed psychological strategies with an emphasis on Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Motivational Interviewing and Existential Psychotherapy, including skills to understand and respond to emotional distress and dilemmas which consumers do not identify as illness. It aims to help distinguish depressive disorders from understandable sadness and grief, distinguish anxiety disorders from the healthy unease which goes with uncertainty; and to deal with alcohol and other drug use in these situations. The course also covers confounding issues, such as cultural difference, social isolation, economic disadvantage and personality disorders.
