Psychologists in primary care: A scoping review exploring the views and experiences of patients and professionals on psychology provision in primary care

McClatchey, K ORCID: 0000-0002-1270-7738, Jordaan, A, Robinson, P, Kinley, E ORCID: 0000-0001-5934-7023, Dale, H, Steed, L and Pinnock, H (2026) Psychologists in primary care: A scoping review exploring the views and experiences of patients and professionals on psychology provision in primary care. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 18 (4). ISSN 1758-0846

Preview

Text Applied Psych Health Well - 2026 - McClatchey - Psychologists in primary care A scoping review exploring the views and.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Psychologists in primary care have the potential to deliver interventions targeting behavioural risk factors for long-term conditions and can support self-management of physical and mental health conditions. The British Psychological Society recommends that psychology be embedded routinely into primary care. However, this is not yet implemented. We aimed to explore how the role of psychology professionals has been co-located/integrated within primary care and synthesise views and experiences of patients, primary care staff and psychology professionals to inform future practice. A scoping review was performed using CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Google Scholar. The searches included articles published in English from 2010 onwards. Reference lists of included articles were screened, and forward citation tracking was carried out to identify further articles. Seventy-two studies were included, and patients and primary care staff described psychology professional provision in primary care as positive. Having co-located/integrated psychology professionals has the potential to increase and/or improve access to care, improve patient knowledge/skills and reduce primary care staff workload and stress. There were development opportunities for primary care and psychology staff, and quality of care was described as improved. Psychology professionals, although satisfied, reported challenges (e.g. role demands and organisational challenges) and training needs. The review discusses practical suggestions, implementation considerations and further research needs

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	1701 Psychology; 5201 Applied and developmental psychology; 5203 Clinical and health psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Divisions:	Psychology (from Sep 2019)
Publisher:	Wiley
Date of acceptance:	22 May 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	13 July 2026
Date Deposited:	13 Jul 2026 14:54
Last Modified:	13 Jul 2026 14:54
DOI or ID number:	10.1111/aphw.70178
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29003

View Item