On the Cusp of the Next Wave

Reviews the book, Behavioral consultation and primary care: A guide to integrating services by Patricia J. Robinson and Jeffrey T. Reiter (see record 2006-20609-000). According to Cummings, Robinson and Reiter were identified with co-located behavioral primary care long before it became the next wave in mental health care delivery, and the depth of their knowledge and experience has enabled them to write this how-to book. This book is organized into six broad areas, each addressing the issues that would perplex the newcomer as well as answering the questions of the advanced professional already working in integrated care. In Part I, the authors delineate both the practical and philosophical issues confronting a primary-care system. Part 2 jumps right into the very functioning of integrated behavioral care as an integral part of health care itself, describing the core competencies, job descriptions, training and supervision, nature of services to be delivered, and billing--essentially all the practical aspects of the model. The third section describes theoretical models and therapeutic approaches of integrated care in response to the current dilemmas in health care, and progresses to assessment tools, including those for treatment planning and evaluation. Part 4 focuses on the nuts and bolts of integrated care: how to conduct initial consultations, the technique of the "hallway handoff," follow-up consultations, charting and medical records, and the allocation of the psychologist's time and resources. Part 5 presents a broad range of examples of consultations within this model. The concluding section begins with prescription medication misuse and dependence and the overprescribing physician, and moves to handling psychiatric emergencies and a number of other challenges that consistently confront the integrated behavioral care provider inundated by clients' chronic medical conditions and behavioral problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)