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GPs believe that mental health issues are over-diagnosed

Iain

The BBC just published an article that says:

'Life being stressful is not an illness' - GPs on mental health over-diagnosis

Of the 752 GPs who took part in our research, 442 said they believed that over-diagnosis is a concern. More said mental health problems were over-diagnosed by a little than over-diagnosed by a lot. 81 GPs who responded felt that mental health problems were under-diagnosed.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2pvxdn9v4o

I believe that around 10% of GPs were approached with the questionnaire although only 2% of GPs responded.

I wonder how much of this will influence the governmnets current policy considerations towards neurodivergent people.

Parents

  • If it's only 2% who responded you could question whether it's representative. It could be it was mostly those who had doubts who replied, in which case the other 98% think there is no issue. Or it could be 98% don't know.

    But GPs are not experts in mental health, the clue is is in the name. They are mostly focussed on childhood illnesses and visible physical problems that can be seen in 8 minutes.

    Communication differences (flat affect, understatement) and masking can put some at a disadvantage, particularly since body language and facial expression are a key feature of how they judge.

    But 2 things can be true:

    1. It can be over-diagnised
    2. They can miss people

    I mentioned to both my psychologists that it is interesting that often those that really need help think they don't. Minimisation of your own issues is not uncommon, particularly if you've struggled for a long time and normalised things.

    Also, Doctors who have encountered a few "worried well" or people exaggerating may be less sympathetic to genuine cases.

    It is not something that is easy, since there are few objective tests, which is why it is a specialism. So I have done sympathy.

  • in reply to Stuart333
    Stuart333 said:
    But GPs are not experts in mental health, the clue is is in the name

    Only 10% of GPs were approached and of them overwhelming majority said they thought it was over-diagnosed. Very few thought it under diagnosed. See the graph on the article (may not be visible for mobile phone users I think).

    Statistics can be a bit consusing but I find such visual representations easier to understand.

    Stuart333 said:
    GPs are not experts in mental health

    They are out gatekeepers to accessing any NHS support or diagnosis though which is why their opinions are very important. I agree with everything else you say here.

Reply
  • in reply to Stuart333
    Stuart333 said:
    But GPs are not experts in mental health, the clue is is in the name

    Only 10% of GPs were approached and of them overwhelming majority said they thought it was over-diagnosed. Very few thought it under diagnosed. See the graph on the article (may not be visible for mobile phone users I think).

    Statistics can be a bit consusing but I find such visual representations easier to understand.

    Stuart333 said:
    GPs are not experts in mental health

    They are out gatekeepers to accessing any NHS support or diagnosis though which is why their opinions are very important. I agree with everything else you say here.

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