What is Health Psychology?

Health psychology is a relatively new branch of the social sciences that deals with human behavior as it pertains to achieving and maintaining optimal health. This field is also concerned with improving health care services and how to better educate the public on health related issues. Today, health psychologists are in great demand as their work directly serves a quickly aging population that has become increasingly aware of how lifestyle choices, attitudes and the society around them can affect their wellbeing and happiness.

The biopsychosocial model greatly serves health psychologists in determining the underlying factors that promote or degrade the health in individuals. Biological factors, such as genetics, psychological factors, such as stress, and social factors, such as family life, all play a role in affecting a person’s health and lifestyle behaviors. Part of earning a health psychology degree is understanding how to implement this model when assessing a patient’s condition or drafting up new health care policies.

When studying for a health psychology degree, there are several subfields to consider. The mind-body connection subfield is concerned with an individual’s coping following a challenging time, such as dealing with a death in the family or personal injury. The psychological adjustment subfield deals with mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety and how they can lead to physical disease. Social support is another area health psychologists may specialize in. Finally, the greatest goal that health psychologists strive for is disease prevention. Much of this work involves educating and reinforcing behaviors that promote health and longevity.

Receiving a health psychology degree will allow you to pursue many attractive career options. Some of the benefits of becoming a health psychologist are helping others on a personal level. Patience, kindness and an empathizing nature will help those that choose this career path to best serve their role. A health psychologist is also a team member, as one is expected to work in coordination with medical doctors, nurses, academic researchers and other professionals.