ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides the best available evidence for the management of patients with mental health conditions in the primary care setting. It focuses on the expertise of a range of experts from primary and secondary care, who have translated information from the literature and their own clinical experience so that it can be applied to everyday family practice globally. The book deals with a box of short key messages that highlight the most important points it aims to convey. It provides family doctors and their teams with the foundation of knowledge necessary to support the development of fully integrated systems to promote good mental health. The book includes the need to harness the wider determinants of health and mental health and to tackle stigma through advocacy, spirituality and ethical practice.
