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

TY - JOUR

T1 - Psychologists in primary care

T2 - A scoping review exploring the views and experiences of patients and professionals on psychology provision in primary care

AU - McClatchey, Kirstie

AU - Jordaan, Aidan

AU - Robinson, Patrick

AU - Kinley, Emma

AU - Dale, Hannah

AU - Steed, Liz

AU - Pinnock, Hilary

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s). Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association of Applied Psychology.

PY - 2026/8

Y1 - 2026/8

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - behavioural health

KW - general practice

KW - primary care

KW - psychologist

KW - psychology

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105044012533

U2 - 10.1111/aphw.70178

DO - 10.1111/aphw.70178

M3 - Review article

C2 - 42423520

AN - SCOPUS:105044012533

SN - 1758-0846

VL - 18

JO - Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being

JF - Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being

IS - 4

M1 - e70178

ER -