Consulting with anxious medical patients. Part II: Diagnostic and therapeutic considerations
Schwab, J.J.
Advances in Therapy 11(6): 343-347
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0741-238X PMID: 10150271 Document Number: 430328
In consulting with anxious medical patients, the psychiatrist needs to consider the possibility of organic disease, differentiate anxiety and depression, and ascertain whether comorbid conditions are present. Guidelines for differential diagnosis are presented. With the anxious patient, treatment goals are to establish rapport, help the patient mobilize intellectual defenses, and enhance self-esteem. Many anxious medical patients will benefit from benzodiazepines, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or doxepin. The therapeutic potential of the consultation is increased by the psychiatrist's meeting with the nursing staff and by a humanistic approach to the patient.