Table 1.

Typology of mental health disorders in primary care⁶

Type	Description	Example disorders	Current care
1	Severe mental disorders, unlikely to remit spontaneously, associated with major disability	Schizophrenia, organic disorders, bipolar disorder	Involves both primary and secondary care
2	Well defined disorders, associated with disability, for which there are effective pharmacological and psychological treatments. Disorders may remit, but relapse is common	Anxious depression, pure depression, generalised anxiety, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder	Can usually be managed entirely within primary care
3	Disorders in which drugs have a more limited role, but for which psychological therapies are available	Phobias, somatised presentations of distress, eating disorder, chronic fatigue	Rarely treated within primary care; only a small proportion of cases are treated by specialist services
4	Disorders that tend to resolve spontaneously	Bereavement, adjustment disorder	Supportive help, rather than a specific mental health skill, is needed