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Chapter 22 - Moving from Models of Liaison Psychiatry to Psychological Medicine: New Approaches

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2025

Shermin Imran
Affiliation:
Greater Manchester NHS Foundation Trust
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Summary

The general hospital environment is one in which the needs for child and adolescent mental health provision are many and varied. These needs may link directly to underlying aspects of the condition itself, the impact of the illness or condition or the treatment proposed. Each of these may impact or be impacted upon by underlying or emerging mental health issues. The disorders discussed in this chapter include: those where somatic and psychological medicine services are intertwined and interdependent, such as for eating disorders; neuropsychiatric presentations including ASD; psychiatric emergencies and finally chronic health conditions. There are a number of models for the delivery of mental health services in hospitals, ranging from services that are mostly separate, usually entitled ‘liaison’ psychiatry services, to those where both mental and somatic health services work closely together, in the same team and sharing the same sets of notes – often referred to as Psychological Medicine.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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