Mind Meets Body:
Creating a Primary Care Psychology
Internship in a Family Medicine
Residency Program

Introduction:
Multiple studies have identified the benefits of providing behavioral health services to primary care patients. Decreased length of stay, fewer hospitalizations and emergency room visits, less frequent office visits, fewer prescriptions, and improvement in health outcomes have been associated with the availability of a behavioral health professional as part of an integrative primary care network. Family physicians have found behavioral health colleagues a valuable resource in which to refer their “difficult” patients, as well as those who could benefit from learning to decrease pain behavior, reduce stress, and motivating patients to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
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