ABSTRACT
Mental health problems enter into many primary care encounters-25 to 60%, by most estimates-and about one half of all patients with mental health disorders initially present to primary care practitioners. Common problems include depression; spousal, child, and senior abuse; situational reactions to such events as job loss, homelessness, and fi nancial stress; severe psychosocial trauma associated with violence and migration; and psychosis, especially among homeless people. National data illustrate the vast scope of these mental health problems in primary care(for illustrative studies of mental health problems presenting in primary care, see Holman, Silver, & Waitzkin, 2000; Jackson & Kroenke, 2008; Smith et al., 2005; for overall prevalence, see the National Comorbidity Study, Kessler et al., 2005).
