The Collaborative Psychotherapist Creating Reciprocal Relationships With Medical Professionals

This book provides case studies, model letters of introduction, suggestions for follow-up communication, and checklists of medical issues to consider when collaborating with medical colleagues.

While it is common knowledge that physical illness affects mental wellbeing and vice versa, there has been a surprising lack of cooperation between psychotherapists and MDs in serving patients' needs. The Collaborative Psychotherapist provides step-by-step guidance on how psychotherapists can work with their medical colleagues on a routine basis.

The authors interview four veteran therapists and one medical doctor who provide valuable insider knowledge of how to collaborate successfully. The volume authors also provide advice on how therapists can extend their skills to collaborate more intensively on complex cases that may involve specialists. Case studies, model letters of introduction, suggestions for follow-up communication, and checklists of medical issues to consider when evaluating patients contribute further to illustrating creative and practical ways to work with medical professionals and improve patient care. 
 

Nancy Breen Ruddy, PhD, received her doctorate in child clinical psychology from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio in 1991. She served on the faculty of the family medicine and psychiatry departments at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, New York from 1991 to 2000. During that time she completed postgraduate training in family therapy and family therapy supervision. In 2001, Dr. Ruddy joined the faculty of the Hunterdon Family Practice Residency in Flemington, New Jersey. She lives in Lawrenceville, New Jersey with her husband and two children.
 
Dorothy A. Borresen, PhD, APN, has been in private practice for more than 20 years, where she practices both psychotherapy and psychopharmacology. She has a doctorate in psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a master's degree in nursing, with a specialty in psychiatric mental health, from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She is an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey—Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick and teaches behavioral science to medical students and family medicine residents. Dr. Borresen lives in Pennington, New Jersey with her husband Bill Alexander.
 
William B. Gunn Jr., PhD, received his doctoral degree in family therapy at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg in 1986. Prior to receiving his PhD, he was a school psychologist and special education director. In 1986, he began teaching in family medicine and currently continues in that capacity. Dr. Gunn was the director of behavioral science at the Fort Collins Family Medicine Residency Program in Fort Collins, Colorado. He was codirector of behavioral medicine at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. For the past 10 years, he has been a faculty member at the New Hampshire/Dartmouth Family Practice Residency in Concord. He is coauthor of Models of Collaboration, a book designed for mental health professionals working in medical settings, and has published articles on the topic of integrating behavioral health into primary care. In addition to his residency work, Dr. Gunn has worked for 20 years as an organizational consultant and serves in that capacity in the local health care system.