Health Psychology
Health Psychology applies the discipline of psychology to the promotion and maintenance of health, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the identification of relationships between psychological and behavioral problems and physical well-being and dysfunction. Clinical Health Psychologists may be involved with a broad range of:
Roles (assessment, treatment, consultation-liaison, multidisciplinary team membership, supervision, teaching, research, health promotion, program development, advocacy/public policy)
Medical Settings (outpatient: primary care and specialty medical clinics; inpatient medical units)
Presenting Problems (e.g., pain, nicotine dependence, obesity, adherence to medical recommendations, coping with chronic illness, adjustment to terminal illness, readiness for organ transplantation, sexual dysfunction, insomnia)
Disease states (e.g., heart disease, cancer, diabetes, renal failure, pulmonary disease, HIV/AIDS).
Course Sequence
The Ph.D. program offers a 3-course Health Psychology sequence (P311, P312, P313), intended to introduce students to basic principles and skills in Clinical Health Psychology. The first two courses, P311 and P312, have shared objectives:
- To provide the student with an understanding of the roles and work settings of a Clinical Health Psychologist, the theoretical perspectives relevant to physical health and health behavior, basics of various disease states and the influence of behavior on disease onset and progression, and a range of clinical intervention techniques.
- To enhance students' abilities to read, understand, and critique research literature in general, and empirical studies in health psychology in particular.
- To facilitate students' understanding of ethical (informed consent, competence, confidentiality) and diversity (disability, age, gender, sexual orientation, SES differences, ethnic/cultural) issues related to health and behavior.
- The third course, P313, builds upon the first two. The primary goal of P313 is: To teach students a broad-range of clinical skills in Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine and to provide them an opportunity to gain experience in their use. Instruction emphasizes application of these skills in a broad range of clinical settings and with patient populations diverse in presenting problems and ethnic/cultural backgrounds.
Research
Students may participate in health-related research through research groups with various faculty.
Clinical Practice
Several clinical practicum sites provide experience working with medical populations