Some patients are more willing to see a behavioral health provider within primary care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the patients' perspectives of having access to a psychologist within primary care and to investigate whether mental health stigma affected preferences. In total, 36 patients completed questionnaires after seeing a psychologist in primary care. Patients were satisfied with having a primary care psychologist involved in their care. Most patients were more likely to see the psychologist in primary care and those who preferred this indicated higher levels of mental health stigma. The overarching theme for why patients saw a psychologist in primary care was convenience. Mental health stigma may also have played a role. Results suggest that providing integrated services may reach patients who may not have otherwise sought services in a behavioral health clinic. Findings from this study encourage the continued integration of behavioral health services.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.