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Psychologists and Pediatricians in the Primary Care Sandbox: Communication is Key to Cooperative Play

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Abstract

Recent literature, public policy, and funding opportunities call attention to the need for better increased integration of health and mental health care services in primary care settings so as to best meet the needs of children and families. There are many benefits to such integration, but pediatric primary care providers (PCPs) face multiple barriers to identifying and managing patients with mental health difficulties. One way to address this problem is through the integration of psychologists into primary care settings who can collaborate with PCPs to provide integrated behavioral health care to youth and families. However, there are challenges to collaboration, which include differences in training, professional cultures, and expectations held by professionals from various disciplines. Effective communication is a key component in supporting interprofessional collaboration between primary care providers and psychologists working in primary care settings. This paper reviews aspects of pediatric medicine culture, critical components of communication, and strategies to improve communication. Three case examples are presented in which some of these challenges have been successfully addressed. Implications and future directions are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is based in part on a symposium presented at the 2015 American Psychological Association Convention. The authors would like to thank Lisa Honigfeld and Eric Youngstrom who participated in the symposium as well as Douglas Tynan who served as the discussant on that occasion. In addition, we gratefully acknowledge the children, families, clinicians, and support staff who participated in the projects described in this article. We also appreciate funding in support of the Frankel Program by the Samuel and Jean Frankel Health and Research Foundation to the University of Michigan Depression Center and a Michigan Department of Community Health Medicaid Match grant awarded to Dr. Gipson (14-06243).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT, 06117, USA

    Anne E. Pidano

  2. Department of Psychology, Pace University, 41 Park Row, 13th floor, New York, NY, 10038, USA

    Prerna Arora

  3. School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Prerna Arora

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Rachel Upjohn Building, 4250 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2700, USA

    Polly Y. Gipson

  5. Department of Pediatrics, Keck USC School of Medicine, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, 4650 Sunset Blvd., Mailstop #53, Los Angeles, CA, 90027-6062, USA

    Bradley O. Hudson

  6. Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, 3020 Children’s Way, San Diego, CA, 92123, USA

    Kriston B. Schellinger

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  1. Anne E. Pidano
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  2. Prerna Arora
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  3. Polly Y. Gipson
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  4. Bradley O. Hudson
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  5. Kriston B. Schellinger
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Correspondence to Anne E. Pidano.

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Anne E. Pidano, Prerna Arora, Polly Y. Gipson, Bradley O. Hudson, and Kriston B. Schellinger declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies performed by the authors with human participants or animals.

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Pidano, A.E., Arora, P., Gipson, P.Y. et al. Psychologists and Pediatricians in the Primary Care Sandbox: Communication is Key to Cooperative Play. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 25, 32–42 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-017-9522-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-017-9522-y

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