6.21 Learn Then Apply: Increased Impact of Formal Education With Consultation Support on Primary Care Physician Knowledge, Skills, and Confidence in Child Mental Health Care

Guidelines for Adolescent Depression in Primary Care (GLAD-PC): Part I. Practice Preparation, Identification, Assessment, and Initial Management

“…36,37 Consultation after training allows learning to be tailored to the PC provider's actual practice 38 and can increase provider comfort with diagnosing and treating mental health issues. 33,39 More than 25 states have established programs to promote collaboration between PC providers and child psychiatrists by providing PC providers with education, rapid access to consultation, and referral options. Among the first psychiatric consultation programs was Targeted Child Psychiatry Services (TCPS) in the state of Massachusetts, 40,41 which offered regional providers access to realtime telephone consultation with a child psychiatrist and the option to refer a child to the psychiatry practice for a mental health evaluation, short-term psychosocial therapy, and/or pharmacotherapy.…”

“…Additionally, access to ongoing consultation after training allows learning to be tailored to the PC provider's actual practice 38 and can increase comfort with diagnosing and treating mental health issues. 33,39 Clinicians also need to practice self-care by using supports for themselves as they take on more responsibilities of caring for youth with depression because engaging with this population can prove to be emotionally challenging.…”

Clinical Update: Collaborative Mental Health Care for Children and Adolescents in Pediatric Primary Care

“…When cooccurring with an educational program, consultation as a form of experiential learning can extend and support the knowledge acquired in the educational program to the management of individual patients and, in so doing, can amplify the impact of both. 66 Consultation may encompass level of care decisions, diagnostic clarification or confirmation, clinical formulation, treatment and referral options, psychotropic medication guidance, and guidance about preventive and therapeutic psychosocial interventions. Although primary care is the focus of this Update, consultation also can be provided to pediatric specialty care physicians.…”