Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison Intervention in Primary Care: A Pilot Study

"The CL brief psychiatric intervention (2 months) in the primary setting will consist of 3 different phases:~1. A direct referral of their PCP to the practice's CL psychiatrist will be held directly after the inclusion of the patient to the intervention arm, by conducting a clinical exchange (by oral or by mail) with the latter.~2. The CL psychiatrist will organize rapidly (in a delay of 1-2 weeks) a first session and will perform 1 to 4 psychiatric sessions, depending on the participant's needs. These sessions will take place in his/her consultation room, located in the referring PCP's practice, and will be completed in less than 2 months. No intervention guide will be provided to perform these sessions.~3. A joint feedback session between the PCP, the participant, and the CL psychiatrist will be organized (2 months after the first psychiatric session), during which the CL psychiatrist will make restitution of his/her proposals, from a biopsychosocial perspective."

PCPs will explain to the participants that they will treat their psychological suffering, by providing the usual care for patients with psychiatric co-morbidities. Treatment as usual (TAU) by the PCP may involve supportive care (psychoeducation, psychotherapeutic support, social interventions, etc.), referral to a mental health provider (psychotherapist, psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse, etc.), treatment with psychotropic drugs, hypnosis, acupuncture, relaxation, etc. So as to facilitate their task, PCPs participating in this study will be provided with a list of mental health workers that they could contact.