The Integrated Care Process of Anxiety, Depression and Somatization (ICP-ADS) lays out the cooperation between primary care (PC) and mental health (MH) as basic premises. Showing this model improves patient detection, inadequate patient referrals, adherence and response to medical treatment.

The Therapeutic Program (TP) established in PC includes low intensity psychological and psychosocial interventions, pharmacological treatment, and use of collaborative space with MH combining consultations, case tracking and educational activities. Our rotation as MH residents in the Community Mental Health Unit (CMHU) has focused on this framework, encouraging the use of a collaborative space.

Three training sessions were used to deal with the process as a whole. PC professionals were given self-help handbooks for low intensity interventions and clinical practice handbooks for psychopharmacological treatment. The referral space was established afterwards, where we took part in the TP founded by the PC doctor. In case the demand would continue, we opened consultation one day a week for co-therapy. With brief interventions of 3–4 sessions we continued the work with self-help guides, which also optimized psychopharmacotherapy.

Referrals were sufficient in many cases. Sixteen procedures were completed in co-therapy, half of which required referrals to encourage adherence. Only a referral to MH had to be done. Three months later, a follow-up showed that no patient in co-therapy had to be referred to specialized care.

The amount of referrals was reduced in comparison to previous months, adherence to interventions of low intensity was improved and was useful in both detection and prevention of new cases.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.