Alcohol use disorders afflict 20 percent or more of adults and lead to tragic family and social problems, injuries and death. Most clinicians feel inadequately prepared to interact with affected patients, and many express feelings of dismay at having to…
Intimate partner violence is widespread, especially among women seeking medical care. It affects women’s overall well-being, any children involved and society by increasing cost of health care. In this model, we describe how we can help by screening for abuse,…
In this module, we will review the special challenges of communicating with depressed patients. Clinicians need special skills to meet the many challenges of depression assessment and depression management in the general medical setting. In addition, clinicians who treat depression…
Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that cause disabling anxiety and fear. Unlike episodic anxiety caused by a stressful event such as a business presentation or a first date, anxiety disorders are relentlessly distressing, disrupting patients’ lives with irrational fear…
Improve your patient’s outcomes related to diet and exercise by giving basic advice and utilizing strategies of proven effectiveness to establish personalized plans. This module describes strategies that focus on supporting motivation, assisting in skills building and assisting in getting…
Smoking is the number one preventable cause of mortality in the U.S. Clinician intervention for tobacco use and dependence is one of the most cost-effective interventions in health care. All clinicians play an important role in influencing and helping smokers…
In this module, we review techniques for communicating effectively with older patients, especially those with sensory, cognitive and functional impairments, and for interacting with their caregivers. These skills and strategies assist clinicians in making more comprehensive diagnoses as well as…
In this module, we discuss concrete relationship-centered approaches to facilitating respectful, honest and safe communication with teens. We organize the adolescent visit into three phases, setting the stage, eliciting the medical and psychosocial history and strength-based counseling. We emphasize that…
Building and sustaining relationships with children and their family members is an ongoing task that includes a set of skills that can be improved with knowledge and practice. Communication between clinician, child and family involves conversation and relationship between human…
Families are the context within which most health problems and illnesses occur, and skillful family interviewing improves health outcomes. Despite changing demographics of American families, most patients live with family members and are strongly influenced by family relationships. The family…
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