Brief screening for depression and anxiety in vision and other rehabilitation services

The field of physical and sensory rehabilitation is broad, covering a wide variety of health presentations and intervention processes. There is persuasive evidence that unrecognised and untreated mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety, can have a major impact on physical health status and rehabilitation outcomes across all areas of practice. It is important to have systems in place for the efficient detection and effective treatment of psychological difficulties. This article considers the role of brief mental health screening measures in case identification, with particular focus on brief mental health screening in vision rehabilitation services. As screening is now regarded as part of evidence-based best practice, the authors also consider issues that affect tool selection and implementation.