Managing Anxiety Disorders in Primary Care

A practical guide to help improve the recognition and treatment of anxiety disorders in primary care.

Making a diagnosis of anxiety can be challenging in primary care, and for this reason many patients remain undiagnosed and untreated.

Patients with undiagnosed anxiety disorders may not receive appropriate treatment and may also undergo unnecessary and costly investigations for their physical symptoms. Anxiety disorders can interfere with the management of patients’ physical health and may be associated with worsening outcomes for coexisting chronic physical disorders. 

However, if the anxiety disorders are correctly identified, patients can be offered effective treatments, including self-help, psychological therapy and medication, which will in turn help to improve their physical health and wellbeing.

Managing Anxiety Disorders is a practical guide to help those working in primary care to recognise and treat anxiety disorders. Using a consistent approach it provides an overview of the most common anxiety disorders and for each describes how to:

• recognise each disorder
• make the diagnosis
• explain the condition to patients
• manage each disorder, including using simple 10 minute CBT strategies to encourage self-help

It also includes practical case studies to illustrate how different anxiety disorders may present in primary care, and how GPs might begin to assess and manage patients with these conditions.