ABSTRACT
This chapter gives an overview of mental disorders commonly emerging among adolescents, including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia substance use and suicidal behaviours. It describes information for primary physicians including prevalence, pattern, detection, intervention and referral principles. This chapter discusses some other mental disorders, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder, which often emerge in childhood and continue to manifest in adolescence. One randomized controlled trial aimed to test the effectiveness of a quality-improvement intervention for adolescent depression in primary care clinics. Primary care clinician surveys assessed satisfaction and impact on access to care, encompassing perception of access to care, ability to meet the needs of patients with mental health problems, timeliness of access to a child psychiatrist, and satisfaction. The “virtual mental health clinic” could deliver specialist consultations, clinical services, and educational experiences to physicians primary-care clinics in poor resource-poor areas.
