The Department of Psychology has had a formal specialization in Health
Psychology and Behavioral Medicine for over 15 years. This specialization
is intended to train psychologists who are experts at integrating
psychological knowledge with current biomedical information about
health and illness. This includes understanding psychological processes
involved in how people stay healthy, why they become sick, and how
they respond when they do become sick. Clinical students pursuing
this specialization also gain extensive training and experience in
applying this knowledge in the provision of psychological services to medical patients and consulting
with health care professionals.
One of the strengths of the health psychology specialization at the
University of Utah is that it is a highly collaborative endeavor among
faculty who have expertise in different areas of psychology (primarily
clinical, developmental, and social). As a result, students gain a
broad and integrative perspective on the psychology of health and
illness. In addition, research and clinical training utilizes a variety of sites within the University of Utah Medical Center, Primary Children's Hospital and the Veterans Administration Medical Center. In these settings, students work closely with clinical health psychologists, physicians and other health care professionals. Students in any of the four Ph.D. tracks (clinical, cognition
and neural science, developmental, social) can pursue a specialization
in Health Psychology. Students who pursue this cross-area specialization
work under the supervision of a core health faculty member and complete
all requirements of their home area in addition to coursework and
research in health psychology.
Students enter the health psychology specialization through one of
the four doctoral programs (Clinical, Cognition
and Neural Science, Developmental, Social).
Students are required to meet all of the requirements of their home
area, and to supplement this with coursework and research in health
psychology. Graduate health psychology seminars are offered on a rotating
basis and generally cover the following areas: Psychobiology of Disease;
Psychosocial Aspects of Acute and Chronic Illness; Illness Prevention
and Health Promotion; Personality and Health, Self-Regulation, Stress, and Coping; Gender, Culture,
and Health; and Relationships and Health across the Life-span. Students
are also encouraged to enroll in related courses offered on campus
(e.g., University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Department of Sociology,
College of Health). Students in the Clinical Health specialization
are also required to complete all requirements of our APA-approved
clinical psychology program, to complete a Behavioral Medicine practicum,
and a clinical clerkship, both of which utilize a variety of training sites in the University of Utah Medical Center and affiliated hospitals, including the University Pain Center, Sleep-Wake Center, Rehabilitation Medicine, Family and Preventive Medicine, and the Veterans Administration Medical Center. Clinical students also complete their pre-doctoral internship in a setting that provides
additional specialization in clinical health psychology/behavioral
medicine.
Students are expected to be continuously involved in research under
the supervision of faculty who participate in the health specialization,
and to have their master's and dissertation research be significant
contributions to the literature in health psychology. The Behavioral
Medicine Research Group, which includes faculty and students with
health-related interests, meets weekly to discuss ongoing research
projects. Students are also likely to gain teaching experience in
undergraduate health psychology courses.
Students who graduate with the specialization in Health Psychology
have been very successful in both academic and applied settings. Here
is a partial list of recent graduates and their current positions.
- Melissa Alderfer, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine
- Alan
Christensen, Professor and Chair,
Department of Psychology
University of Iowa
- Lee
Ellington, Research Assistant Professor, College of Nursing
University
of Utah Health Sciences Center
- Linda
Gallo, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
San Diego State
University
- Juliane Holt-Lundstad, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Brigham Young University
- Stephen
Palmer, Research Assistant Professor, Abramson Cancer Center
University
of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine
- Steven Barger, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Northern Arizona
- Stephen Sheppard, Rehabilitation Medicine and Alcohol Clinic
University of Utah Health Sciences Center
- John Ruiz, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Washington State University
- Heidi Hamann, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Washington State University
- Melissa Hawkins, Post-doctoral Fellow, Reproductive Medicine
University of Washington School of Medicine
- Jill Nealey-Moore, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Puget Sound
- Kelly Baron, Post-doctoral Fellow, Feinberg School of Medicine
North Western University
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