| dc.description.abstract | Two of the authors were general practitioners (GPs) in the 1980s, when there was
much interest in consultation, stimulated by the psychoanalyst Michael Balint.
Around one in five psychiatrists worked in consultation liaison in general practice at
that time, but in the 1990s this was stopped to increase the focus on psychosis.
However, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Royal College of General
Practitioners have a strong history of collaboration, and many psychiatrists, nurses
and GPs trained together in the national Trailblazers programme, focusing on service
delivery in all areas of mental health. Recent proposals for mental health community
collaborative networks from the NHS provide an opportunity for psychiatrists to work
with GPs and a range of other professionals once more, for complex non-psychotic
illness that cannot be helped by Improving Access to Psychological Therapies
services. The circle is closing for GPs like us, who were working in the 1980s. | en |
