Perceived Need of Family Physicians for Their Patients to Receive Family Therapy Related Care

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent that family physicians believe their patients could benefit from marriage and family therapy-related care, the extent of their experiences of collaborating with family therapists, and their interest in future collaboration with family therapists. Limitations family physicians face when providing psychosocial care as well as roadblocks they face when making mental health referrals and collaborating with family therapists were also explored. Sixty-four percent of the 240 family physicians surveyed responded to the mailed questionnaire. Descriptive statistics are provided for the quantitative analysis, while content analysis was used to evaluate the qualitative data. Quantitative results revealed that family physicians do detect psychosocial concerns in patient encounters, even when those concerns are not the presenting complaint, but face limitations and roadblocks to adequately addressing these concerns. The most common form of collaboration that the respondents expressed interest in was referring out with collaborative communication continuing with the family therapist, but other forms were also identified.