Essay On Health Psychology

Health Psychologist by Victoria Schmidt
3rd pd.

Health psychology is a specialty area that focuses on biological, social and psychological factors influence health and illness.
Health psychologists engage in many different job-related tasks. The specific type of work that a health psychologists does on a daily basis may depend on work settings or specialty are.
Clinical Work: In clinical and medical settings, health psychologists often conduct behavioral assessments, clinical interviews and personality tests. Other tasks often involve participating in interventions with individuals or groups. Such interventions may involve educating people about stress reduction techniques, offering smoking cessation tips and teaching people how to avoid unhealthy behaviors.
Research: Many health psychologists also conduct research on a variety of health-related issues. For example, researchers may focus such things as the causes of health problems, effective preventative measures, the best health promotion techniques, how to best help people cope with pain or illness and how to get people to seek treatment for medical conditions.
Public Policy Work: Some health psychologists work in government or private agency settings to influence public policy on health issues. This work might involve lobbying government agencies, addressing inequalities in health care or advising governmental bodies on health care reform.
Where Do Health Psychologists Work?: Health psychologists work in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, health care clinics, private corporations and universities. Some health psychologists work in settings that specialize in a particular area of health care such as oncology, pain management, woman's health and smoking cessation programs. Other health psychologists work in government settings, often administrating community health programs or influencing public policies.
How Much Do Health Psychologists Earn?: Salaries for health psychologists typically depend on a number of factors including geographic location, work setting, educational background and job experience. According to the American Psychological Association(APA), licensed psychologists working withing direct human services (of which health psychology comprises 13-percent) earned an average of $80,000 per year. Other estimates suggest that licensed health psychologists typically earn anywhere from $40,000(entry-level) to $85,000(advanced-level)
Training And Educational Requirements: Most licensed psychologists hold a doctorate-level (Ph. D or Psy. D) degree in psychology. In many cases, health psychologists pursue an undergraduate degree in general psychology and the specialize in health psychology in graduate school. Some programs offer degrees specifically in health psychology. The emphasis in these programs can very-some focus on preparing students for clinical careers while others emphasize the role of research. Those who want to be licensed in clinical or counseling psychology must complete a minimum of a one-year internship after earning a doctorate degree. The American Board of Professional Psychology also offers board certification in health psychology. While a doctorate degree is usually required in order to become a licensed health psychologists thee are some employment opportunities for those with a bachelor's degree or master's degree. Employment at the bachelor's level is limited, but some find work in community mental health offices or correctional facilities. Those with a master's degree enjoy more employment opportunities, although the typically work under the supervision of a licensed clinical psychologists.
Sub-fields Within Health Psychology: There are a number of distinct specialty areas within health psychology:
-Clinical Health Psychology: This sub-field of health psychology is strongly linked to clinical psychology and involves activities such as psychotherapy, behavior modification and health education.
-Community Health Psychology: Individuals working in this sub-field of health psychology often focus on developing interventions and prevention techniques at the community-level. These professionals may conduct assessments of communities or with groups to encourage healthy behaviors or promote behavior changes.
-Public Health Psychology: These health psychology professionals focus on understanding health at the population-level and often offer advice to health care professionals, government agencies and health educators.
-Occupational Health Psychology: This an emerging sub-field within health psychology that incorporates industrial-organizational psychology and related disciplines. Occupational health psychologists focus on understanding how workplace issues are linked to both physical and mental illness.
Job Outlook: According to APA Division 38 Health Psychology, the job outlook for health psychologists is strong, partly due to the increased hiring of psychologists by hospitals and other medical establishments. Fortunately, health psychologists have a diverse range of employment area to choose from including colleges and universities, private practices, rehabilitation centers, government agencies and health clinics.