Emotional Illness and the Family Physician: II. Management and Treatment

Abstract

In order to better design continuing education courses in Psychiatry to fit the needs of practlcmg family physicians, a questionnaire was sent to all the members of what was at that time the Michigan Chap­ ter of the American Academy of General Practice. Information obtained from the survey included type and frequency of emotional disease encountered in practice and methods used to treat it, attitudes to­ ward emotionally ill patients, availability and utiliza­ tion of psychiatric resources, and willingness to engage in and content desired in postgraduate psychiatric education. During the analysis of this survey, it be­ came apparent that the investigation offered a unique opportunity to assess the impact on Psychiatry of such recent developments as new forms of therapy, the in­ troduction of psychoactive drugs and pragmatic treat­ ment techniques developed during World War II. Specifically, it was felt that these advances would underscore the scientific basis of the discipline and alter the perception of it in the medical profession. Further, it was believed that the enhanced credibility of Psychiatry with respect to other specialties would be paralleled by changes in undergraduate education. Subsequently, the net effect of these changes would be manifest in the behavior of practicing physicians who could be expected to be more aware of the emotional needs and diseases of their patients and be more will­ ing to treat these conditions. In order to test these assumptions, the responses of the participating physicians were grouped on the basis of year of graduation from medical school, pre and post 1950. This year was selected as the dividing point because it was felt that the undergraduate educa­ tion of physicians graduating during or after this year would have been affected by the changes taking place in Psychiatry. In the first article of the series, Fisher et all, the physicians were compared on the types, fre­ quencies and severity of emotional illness seen and their diagnostic methods. As expected it was found that physicians who graduated after 1950 recognized emotional illness significantly more often than did