Psychology and health care.

Abstract

Recent advances in the area of health care psychology are noted, especially those involving the conceptualization and treatment of lifestyle and chronic health problems. The contributions to health care psychology of community psychology, brief psychological treatments, behavioural medicine, and health psychology are outlined.The central task incumbent upon both organized psychology and individual psychologists is that of creating an underlying structure of clear boundaries and standards for clinical practice and training in health care psychology. Initially, this task involves an inventorying of Canadian psychologists currently providing health care services and of the nature and amount of those services.Subsequently, there is a need for the profession to examine and create guidelines in psychological service delivery, professional role models, training, and scientific methods pertaining to general health care.

Resurrecting the dodo: Prospects for a national clinical psychology programme accreditation system.

“…The battle in Canada for a scientist -professional (Boulder) clinical training model is largely won, at least in principle. Claims to a significant place for psychologists in the psychotherapy market-place arc less in dispute, especially given our research contribution to the area (Dunn, 1983). The certification movement has met with success in the major provinces.…”