Historical Background of health psychology

Health psychology emerged in the 1970s, initially in the United States following an APA Task Force report. It developed from a range of precursor movements including psychosomatic medicine, while in the United Kingdom medical psychology was an additional precursor. Wilhelm Wundt is the man most commonly identified as the father of psychology.
Psychology came into being as a scientific discipline by the establishment of first Institute of Psychology in 1879 at Leipzig in Germany by Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920). It is here the first professional psychologists acquired the skills of experimental work to study the mind. Introduction to Health Psychology. Psychology focusing on the Biopsychological Model, i.e., health issues from standpoint of biological, psychological, and social factors. Bandura is recognized as the most influential psychologist of the twentieth century and was awarded the Grawemeyer Award at the age of 82.
Health psychology examines how biological, social and psychological factors influence health and illness. Health psychologists use psychological science to promote health, prevent illness and improve health care systems.The field of health psychology emerged in the 1970s to address the rapidly changing field of healthcare. Today, life expectancy in the U.S. is around 80 years, and the leading causes of mortality are chronic diseases often linked to lifestyle. 2 Health psychology helps address these changes in health.Studying the field's successes and mistakes, alongside today's emerging findings, teaches students how to think critically about psychology, they say. Psychology history also demonstrates how the field began and developed in response to modern culture, politics, economics and current events.

1. Health Psychology Historical Background AQSA SHAHID

2. Historical Background of Health Psychology Ancient cultures Historically, philosophers believed that mind and body are the part of same system Evil spirits entered in the body Extortion was treatment process Greeks identified that the role of bodily functioning in health and development of illness Hippocrates (ca.460-ca. 377 B.C)

3. History cont …….. Expanded by Galen (A.D. 129-ca.199). Misbalance of four circulating fluid of the body- is responsible of disease. blood Black bile Yellow bile phlegm Specific personality types were believed to associated with bodily temperaments , predominated by the four humors. Greeks believed that bodily factors are responsible of disease

4. History con…… In the Middle A ge back towards supernatural explanations of illness and dominating concepts were: Mysticism Demonology Considered as God's punishment for evildoings Treated through torturing the body, driving out evil Later this therapy was replaced by prayers and good works Church was guardian of medical knowledge, healing and practice of religion became the indistinguishable (Kaplan, 1975)

5. History Con……. Renascence period gave the basis of medical practice Leeuwnhoek’s (1632-1723) work in microscopy Morgagni’s (1682-1771) contributed to dissection Both of them rejects humoral theory of illness Cellular pathology Medical Laboratories--- medical progress Physicians become the guardians of the body while philosophers and theologians become the caretakers of the mind

6. History Con……… Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) worked on Conversion hysteria in his view Specific unconscious repressed psychological conflicts can produced physical disturbances. Sudden loss of speech, hearing, sight, tremors, muscular paralysis, eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia Durban and Alexander argued that conflict produced anxiety, which becomes unconscious and effect body via the autonomic nervous system. The continuous physical changes eventually produce an actual organic disturbance. Emergence of psychosomatic medicines.

7. History Con…… Psychosomatic Medicine: Unlike frued Durban and Alexander linked patterns of personality rather than a single conflict to specific illness Alexander, 1950 :Ulcer prone Personality…… excessive needs for dependency and love may cause ulcer Durban and Alexander argued that Bodily disorders caused by emotional conflicts Ulcer, hyperthyroidism Rheumatoid arthritis Essential hypertension Neurodermatitis Colitis Bronchial asthma This idea generated by psychosomatic medicine perspective is still exist

8. History Con…………. It is now known that physical health is inseparably interlinked with the psychological and social environment The treatment of illness is now affected by such factor Relationship between patient and practitioner Expectations about pain and discomfort Good health habits Stress Social support The mind and body cannot be separated in matters of health and illness

9. Definition of Health Psychology Definition of Health Psychology Health psychology deals with: Understanding psychological influence on how people stay healthy How they respond when they do get ill Health psychologists promote interventions to help people stay well World Health Organization (WHO, 1948) defined Health psychology as “A complete state of physical, mental, and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”

10. Scope of health psychology Health Psychologist Health psychology is concerned with all aspects of health and illness across the life span. Psychologists focus on Health promotion and Maintenance get children to develop good health habits, promote regular exercise and how to design media campaign Prevention and treatment of illness teach people to manage stress help people who are already sick to adjust more successfully to their illness To learn to follow their treatment schedule Psychologists also focus on the etiology, correlates of health, dysfunction health habits: alcohol consumption, smoking, exercise and ways of coping with stress

11. Health psychologist Con……… Psychologists attempts to improve health care system Formulation of health policy Reference Book : Shelly. E Taylor. 6 th edition, McGraw Hill,Amazone