General practitioners and school psychologists: An underused collaboration.

BACKGROUND: General Practitioners (GPs) play a vital role in the management of the social, emotional and behavioural health of children and adolescents. Best practice usually requires collaboration with a broad range of other medical and allied health professionals, to bring about optimal outcomes for patients and their family.

OBJECTIVE: This article describes the specific role of a school psychologist and outlines various ways that GPs and school psychologists can collaborate in the assessment and management of school‑aged patients.

DISCUSSION: Given the importance of school in the social and emotional development of children and adolescents, school psychologists should be considered a valuable partner for GPs when caring for young people.