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The American Psychological Association says: "Health Psychologists are interested in how biological, psychological, and social factors affect health and illness."
Health Psychology researchers study the relationship between mind and body. They may study health risk behaviors such as smoking or low physical activity and develop better ways of helping people to make changes to their behaviors. They may study the relationship between psychological factors (e.g. proneness to hostility), social/psychological factors (e.g., psychological stress) and illness (e.g., heart disease).
Health Psychology professionals can also help individuals cope with invasive or unpleasant medical procedures, or assist them to maximize their adherence to a treatment plan. The Health Psychology Page at Suite101.com: The focus of the Health Psychology site is the Union of Medicine and Psychology. It's called Medical Psychology in the hospital. In the research laboratory it's Biological Psychology, and on the therapist's couch: Psychobiology. The first article published here at Suite101.com, Lycanthropy Once a Myth, viewed in that regard, is an illustrative example of this medicine-psychology union. I plan to present several other articles like this that show, rather dramatically in some cases, how the mind-body interaction can be at once both wonderous and very strange to behold.
Also in this site, I intend to place significant emphasis upon the practical aspects as well, and such concepts as mind-body and hormone-body approaches to Wellness and recovery from illness will be significant themes. Additionally, as one might expect, mental health, mental illnesses, brain dysfunction, diagnoses and treatments, are a large part of Health Psychology. Health Psychology, thus, is a multidisciplinary mind/body enterprise, including teaching, research investigations and clinical applications. Specialty programs at a typical health psychology clinic would likely include therapeutic programs for outpatient pain and rehabilitation , a stress management, headaches, hypertension, anxiety-related disorders, depression, alcohol and substance abuse, life-threatening diseases such as cancer and AIDS, and other medically- and psychophysiologically- related and psychosomatic disorders. There are at least 53 Universities that offer a doctorate in Health Psychology including, but not limited to, the following: Stanford University, City University of New York, McGill University, Kent State University, Ohio State University, University of California at Los Angeles, University of Florida, University of Kansas, University of Pittsburgh, University of Wisconsin, Rutgers University, University of Washington, Wayne State University, Yeshiva University, Texas A&M University and the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
The copyright of the article Health Psychology: What it is in Health Psychology is owned by . Permission to republish Health Psychology: What it is in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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