Relationships among physical development, mental growth, adolescent interests, personality, and social consciousness, will be explored. As an introduction to the profession of clinical and health psychology, the course will review the history of the field and important theoretical, legal and ethical aspects of practice of behavioral medicine and health psychology. This course is intended to provide a broad overview of many of the important contemporary public health issues such as health care reform, cardiovascular disease, cancer, AIDS, etc. Students will study epidemiology, large-scale applied research methods, and community health intervention methods focusing on primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of disease prevention. Through an individual or small group project, students will also become involved in intensive study within a selected area of health psychology and develop an original research proposal.
Disorders examined include myocardial infarction, cancer, obesity, headaches, and chronic pain.
The major psychotherapeutic models used to treat medical disorders will be reviewed. A study of special diagnostic procedures with children who have physical, intellectual and sensory impairments. This course will review the historical background of biofeedback, stressing biofeedback as an aid in stress management,in the treatment of psychosomatic disorders and muscle relaxation, and in the physiological basis of self regulation. Students will have the opportunity to become familiar with the application of the EMC, ST trainer and other biofeedback instrumentation through demonstration and practice. Ethical issues are explored.