ArticleBMC family practice2020
Patients' experiences of seeking help for emotional concerns in primary care: doctor as drug, detective and collaborator.
Article in BMC family practice, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Experiences of treatment-resistant mental health conditions in primary care: a systematic review and thematic synthesis.BMC primary care · 2022Pooled it
- Patient and provider perspectives on self-administered electronic substance use and mental health screening in HIV primary care.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2022Trial
- The Long-Term Effects of a Housing First Intervention on Primary Care and Non-Primary Care Physician Visits Among Homeless Adults with Mental Illness: A 7-Year RCT Follow-Up.Journal of primary care & community healthTrial
- Patient perceptions of genetic counselors' role and emotional support needs in adults with Parkinson's disease.Journal of genetic counseling · 2025Article
- Navigating the shadow of fear: a qualitative study unveiling the lived experience of fear of cancer recurrence among Chinese gastric cancer survivors undergoing chemotherapy.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Engagement with emotional concerns in general practice: a thematic analysis of GP consultations.BJGP open · 2024Article
- Structured communication methods for mental health consultations in primary care: a scoping review.BMC primary care · 2023Article
- Hematochezia caused by tandospirone in a patient with major depressive disorder and anxious distress: a case report.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Examining drivers of self-harm guideline implementation by general practitioners: A qualitative analysis using the theoretical domains framework.British journal of health psychology · 2022Article
- First-episode olfactory hallucination in a patient with anxiety disorder: A case report.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Understanding the Professional Care Experience of Patients with Stroke: A Qualitative Study Using In-Depth Interviews.International journal of integrated careArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNICE guidelines for the management of emotional concerns in primary care emphasise the importance of communication and a trusting relationship, which is difficult to operationalise in practice. Current pressures in the NHS mean that it is important to understand care from a patient perspective. This study aimed to explore patients' experiences of primary care consultations for emotional concerns and what patients valued when seeking care from their GP.
methodsEighteen adults with experience of consulting a GP for emotional concerns participated in 4 focus groups. Data were analysed thematically.
results(1) Doctor as Drug: Patients' relationship with their GP was considered therapeutic with continuity particularly valued. (2) Doctor as Detective and Validator: Patients were often puzzled by their symptoms, not recognising their emotional concerns. GPs needed to play the role of detective by exploring not just symptoms, but the person and their life circumstances. GPs were crucial in helping patients understand and validate their emotional concerns. (3) Doctor as Collaborator: Patients prefer a collaborative partnership, but often need to relinquish involvement because they are too unwell, or take a more active role because they feel GPs are ill-equipped or under too much pressure to help. Patients valued: GPs booking their follow up appointments; acknowledgement of stressful life circumstances; not relying solely on medication.
conclusionsSeeking help for emotional concerns is challenging due to stigma and unfamiliar symptoms. GPs can support disclosure and understanding of emotional concerns by fully exploring and validating patients' concerns, taking into account patients' life contexts. This process of exploration and validation forms the foundation of a curative, trusting GP-patient relationship. A trusting relationship, with an emphasis on empathy and understanding, can make patients more able to share involvement in their care with GPs. This process is cyclical, as patients feel that their GP is caring, interested, and treating them as a person, further strengthening their relationship. NICE guidance should acknowledge the importance of empathy and validation when building an effective GP-patient partnership, and the role this has in supporting patients' involvement in their care.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.