BMJ 2002;324:1567-1569 ( 29 June )

Clinical review

ABC of psychological medicine

The consultation

Linda Gask, Tim Usherwood. 

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The success of any consultation depends on how well the patient and doctor communicate with each other. There is now firm evidence linking the quality of this communication to clinical outcomes.


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The dual focus---Patients are not exclusively physically ill or exclusively emotionally distressed. Often they are both. At the start of a consultation it is usually not possible to distinguish between these states. It is the doctor's task to listen actively to the patient's story, seeking and noticing evidence for both physical illness and emotional distress.

Involving patients---Changes in society and health care in the past decade have resulted in real changes in what people expect from their doctors and in how doctors view patients. In addition, greater emphasis has been placed on the reduction of risk factors, with attempts to persuade people to take preventive action and avoid risks to health. Many patients want more information than . . . [Full text of this article]
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Why psychological medicine?
Jose Tous
bmj.com, 2 Jul 2002 [Full text]
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