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Many primary-care pediatricians see patients who have mental health concerns but do not feel comfortable treating those concerns and do not communicate with those patients’ mental health providers as often as they’d like to, suggests a study in Families, Systems, & Health. Researchers surveyed 123 pediatricians in 41 states. Overall, the pediatricians estimated that 28 percent of their patients had mental health concerns. About 30 percent of the pediatricians said that they felt “somewhat” or “very” uncomfortable treating those concerns. About 24 percent said that they never communicated with their patients’ mental health providers. Another 24 percent said that they communicated about once a year. About 37 percent said that they communicated every two to six months, and 10 percent said they communicated monthly or more frequently. (Monitor on Psychology)

Susie Bean Gives