Health Psychology in Practice

Published by Blackwell in association with the British Psychological Society (BPS), Health Psychology in Practice provides a comprehensive overview of the competences required for professional training in the UK (BPS Stage 2 Qualification in Health Psychology). Sections cover the areas of research, consultancy and teaching and training competencies as well as describing some of the professional roles that health psychologists are developing within the National Health Service and other organisations. The book details the requirements of the qualification, including the assessment procedures, and sets out what trainees must be able to do in order to attain it. The final chapter contains a series of individual commentaries on health psychology training in a variety of countries, which will be of great interest to an international audience. Susan Michie and Charles Abraham have both helped to establish the Stage 2 qualification and so are ideally placed to edit this text.

Susan Michie is Reader in Clinical Health Psychology at University College London.
Charles Abraham is Professor of Psychology at the University of Sussex.
Both are Chartered Psychologists, Fellows of the BPS and approved Stage 2 supervisors.

"Michie & Abraham have produced a truly comprehensive text based around the competencies required to train as a health psychologist in the UK. It will be required reading for all in such training and, because of the breadth and salience of UK health psychology training, the book will also be of value to a wide range of other applied psychologists and social scientists in the UK and elsewhere." Professor Derek Johnston, University of Aberdeen, Chair Elect, BPS Division of Health Psychology "This book tackles the 'bricks and mortar' of how to do health psychology, on both practical and academic levels. Adopting a down-to-earth, no-nonsense approach and written with great clarity, its cohesive and integrated style makes it easy to read and digest. Essential reading and an invaluable reference for all health psychologists who want to be fully professionally qualified and well informed about what is happening in Britain, all advanced researchers in the field including those training at doctoral level, students contemplating training for chartership, and their supervisors." Suzanne Skevington, Professor of Psychology, University of Bath "The publication of this book is particularly timely as the framework for Stage 2 training of Health Psychologists in the UK continues to roll out. The book offers a clear rationale and account of the UK Health Psychology training framework, together with comparative accounts of training models in the US, Australia & Europe. Subsequent sections clearly illustrate the competencies that health psychologists are required to demonstrate at the end of their period in the areas of research, consultancy and interventions, training and teaching and professional practice, with examples of how these competencies can be acquired in practice. With relevant illustrative examples and clear linkages between current practice and the competencies underpinning Stage 2 training, this book will be an invaluable resource for prospective and current trainees and supervisors in health psychology. This volume will do much to define and clarify the roles and competencies of health psychologists in the UK, and will quell the anxieties of those wishing to embark on health psychology training, concerned about the need to acquire a potentially daunting array of competencies. It will also help to bring alive the academic knowledge base of health psychology for students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, by offering clear linkages between theory, research and practice." Professor Nichola Rumsey, Research Director, Centre for Appearance Research, Department of Psychology, UWE Bristol "Published with the British Psychological Society, this readable and practical text will surely form the standard introduction to this maturing field. It covers training models, research (including design and even writing grant applications), consultancy and interventions, training and teaching, and professional roles and practice. " The Scientific and Medical Network Review "Much of the material has a value for health professionals other than just psychologists, such as the chapters on planning research projects, analysing and reporting data in health research, designing and conducting qualitative studies, carrying out systematic reviews, and writing for publication." Dental Health Volume 45, no 2