Health psychology, assessments, intervention in health psychology

1. HEALTH
PSYCHOLOGY
Assessment and intervention

2. Learning outcomes:
■ After completion of this lecture, students will able to:
■ Describe the assessment of health psychology
■ Explain the methods of assessment
■ Analyse the assessment and intervention of health psychology
■ Define cognitive behavioural approach

3. Health psychology:
■ Health psychology is the study of psychological and behavioral processes in health, illness,
and healthcare. It is concerned with understanding how psychological, behavioral, and
cultural factors contribute to physical health and illness. Psychological factors can
affect health directly.
■ Health psychologists study the various reactions of individuals when diagnosed with a
particular disease, as well as factors that affect their treatment choices.They assist patients
through chronic disease care, such as diabetes or substance abuse, and encourage
a healthy lifestyle.
■ The field of health psychology is focused on promoting health as well as the prevention and
treatment of disease and illness.

4. “Assessment in health psychology”
■ The primary goal of assessment in health psychology is to
increase the validity of clinical judgments and to facilitate the
study of health related variable.
■ This fundamental goal includes several subordinate assessment
goals:
First assessment helps the health psychologist to differentiate
the effects of physical disease from psychological reactions to
illness.

5.  Second assessment careful assessment can aid in the
psychological diagnostic process. Accurate diagnosis of
psychiatric condition is particularly difficult in medically ill
individuals because physical illness can produce symptoms
identical to those of some mental disorders.
Third assessment of the characteristic of variables that cause,
maintain, or influence the health status and relationship among
them is necessary to advance our understanding of health-
related behaviors, generates goods case conceptualization and
implement effective intervention.

6.  Fourth assessment , the identification of variables that will
influences the course of treatment aids treatment planning.
 Fifth assessment, progress or decline (as in degenerative
diseases) is monitored through the identification of individuals
baseline values and periodic assessment throughout treatment.
Finally, the health psychologist may also involve in evolution
of treatment outcome.

7. “Methods of assessment”
Methods of assessment currently in use include:
■ Questionnaires
■ Self- monitoring, direct behavioral observations
■ Clinician administrated rating scale
■ Psycho-physiological measure
■ Small number of instrument are in use the Minnesota
multiphasic personality inventory(MMPI)

8. “Methods of assessment”
■ The symptom checklist-90 (SCL)
■ The life experiences survey (LES)
■ The 16 personality factor questionnaire
■ MMPI-2
■ Beck depression inventory

9. “Individual assessment”
■ Health psychologist have sought to identify personality
traits that predisposed an individuals to illness onset ,
impede treatment efficiency, or predict treatment
outcome.
■ MMPI-30 and Jenkins activity survey JAS are most widely
used to personality. Psychological distress is frequently
associated with medical illness.
■ Commonly used measure are the symptom checklist-90
revised(SCL-90-R), the brief symptom inventory (BSI),
(GHQ) general health questionnaire etc.

10. “Intervention in health psychology”
1. Cognitive behavioral approaches:
■ Cognitive behavioral therapy is a treatment method that is
empirically supported for depression and anxiety, both of
which frequently occur in medically ill patient.
■ The CBT method involve the therapist and patient work
together to identify the patient thoughts. Some therapist may
use a CBT approach to address family issues when a member is
ill.
■ Treatment goals of CBT are determine by types of illness and
stages of illness.

11. 2. “Physiological approaches”
■ Physiological approaches such as biofeedback and relaxation
are used in isolation.
■ There are several standard protocols for relaxation training
including progressive relaxation training.
■ Illness or disorders often treated with biofeedback include
asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome,
insomnia, hypertension, headache, urinary incontinence, and
premenstrual syndrome.

12. 3. “Combination approach”
■ Combinations are found in meditation, hypnosis, autogenic training, and
various “alternative” approaches such as tai chi, yoga, etc.
■ Hypnosis can be an effective treatment for chronic pain, insomnia, and
other stress- responsive condition:
1. Hetro-hypnosis:(in which hypnosuggestions are delivered by
another individual.)
2. Self-hypnosis:(suggestion of deep relaxation for stress
management)
■ ………

13. “Reference”
■ Text book Sarfaraz Ahmad Mayo
■ https://www.westminster.edu/about/accreditation-assessment/definition.cfm
■ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_assessment
■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49GzqPP7YYk