This article reports some of the findings of a sociological inquiry info general practitioners' perception of mental health.
Main findings are: In about half of his cases the general practitioner considers psychological factors as the partial or most important cause of the complaints. Only a part of these patients however receives psychiatrie treatment from the general practitioner or — after referral — from a psychiatrist. Of the patients treated, the greater part is treated by the general practitioner himself, whereas only a small pro portion is referred to a specialized psychiatrie agency. As a possible explanation it is pointed out, that the general practitioner — as we found in our research — sees the therapeutic possibilities for psychiatrie patients as more restricted than for somatic patients.