PSYC 250 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Pharmacology, Psychological Intervention, Behaviorism
Document Summary
Health psychology: history, definition and areas of application. There are a large number of disciplines within psychology. While some of them focus on research, group settings, or clinical practice, health psychology focuses on health promotion and the psychological treatment of physical illness. In the preamble to its constitution, written in 1948, the world health organization defined health as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not the mere absence of disease or disability. " Other definitions place health and disease on a continuum. Thus, in one of its extremes we would find total health, while in the other we would find premature death due to lack of health. Likewise, an increasing importance is given to understanding health as a state and as a resource that allows achieving goals and meeting the needs of individuals and social groups in relation to their environment.
