Interviews Ronald Levant, dean of the Center for Psychological
Studies at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
about clinical clinical health psychology. Relationship between
psychology and medicine; How psychology would be worked into the normal
caregiving routine.
By
PT Staff, published on January 01, 1999
MEDICINE
The next time you visit a hospital seeking relief from asthma or
chronic pain, you may be treated by a shrink, not a physician. Because
behavior has become a key predictor of our physical well-being, the field
of health psychology, or how to prevent and treat illness through
psychological intervention, is increasingly becoming a component of the
hospital scene. One proponent of the trend, Ronald Levant, Ed.D., dean of
the Center for Psychological Studies at Nova Southeastern University in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, recently spoke to PT about the new
discipline.
What is Clinical Health Psychology?
Clinical Health Psychology (CHP) was approved as a specialty by the
American Psychological Association in 1997. It promotes study of the
interaction between psychology and serious illness, disease prevention,
physical rehabilitation and the general upkeep of good health.
How are psychology and medicine linked?
Seven of the nine major causes of death--including tobacco use,
alcohol abuse and poor diet--stem from behavior. Between 50 and 70% of
all visits to physicians are for problems rooted m psychology And
mounting evidence proves that psychological intervention can be useful in
treating a wide range of problems, from AIDS and asthma to obesity and
osteoporosis.
How would psychology be worked into the normal caregiving
routine?
I envision a day when psychologists will work alongside doctors and
nurses, and patients will be triaged to see who should do their workup
based on the likelihood that their problems are mental or medical.
Psychologists should at least be part of the primary health care
team.
ILLUSTRATION (COLOR)
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