Health Psychology

What is health?

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO, 1948).

What is health psychology?

Health psychology is the aggregate of the specific educational, scientific, and professional contributions of the discipline of psychology to the promotion and maintenance of health, the prevention and treatment of illness, the identification of etiologic and diagnostic correlates of health, illness, and related dysfunction, and to the analysis and improvement of the health care system and health policy formation (Matarazzo, 1980).

Links to information about health psychology training

v What a health psychologist does and how to become one

v Guide to predoctoral internships in health psychology:

§ Internships with major rotations

§ Internships with minor rotations

v Doctoral training programs in health psychology

v Postdoctoral training programs in health psychology

Links to organizations related to health psychology

v American Psychological Association: Health Psychology Division 38

v American Psychosomatic Society

v Society of Behavioral Medicine

v Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society