Who we are and what we stand for...

Vision

To advance excellence in knowledge and practice relevant to health promotion and clinical health psychology.  

Mission

To provide a leadership role in the development and application of evidence-based psychological solutions to improve the health and wellbeing of the community. 

Statement of strengths

Our strengths for improving the health and wellbeing of the community include:

  • We are Australia's largest professional grouping of health psychologists working across the individual and community level
  • We are Australia's largest network of health psychology researchers and practitioners
  • A commitment to excellence and innovation in training and accreditation standards
  • A commitment to excellence to professional development in health psychologists and other health professionals
  • the use and dissemination of evidence-based health-related behaviour change strategies to avoid preventable conditions and better manage existing health conditions

Our group includes many internationally recognised leaders in Health Psychology.

Values

We have a commitment to: 

  • Leadership - to provide national leadership in the development and application of evidence based psychological solutions to improve the health and wellbeing of the community.
  • Service - providing resources to our members and advocating for the core interests of our membership and the wider community
  • Professionalism - to provide a strong foundation for the growth of careers in health psychology
  • Beneficence - to provide benefit to people affected by chronic and acute health conditions and the community generally by promoting health and reducing the impact of chronic conditions through evidence based practice and research.
  • Innovation - development and dissemination of innovative solutions, that are evidence-based, to improve the health and wellbeing of society and reduce the burden on the health care system.
  • Education - to educate psychologists, other health professions, and the general public about effective evidence-based solutions for preventing and managing major health problems and to oversee the education of specialist training in the area of health psychology
  • Responsiveness - to respond rapidly to the changing health needs of the community. 
Contributions to physical health and illness

The large number of areas of research and service delivery activities in health psychology illustrate the richness of this field. Reports by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare indicate that the leading causes of mortality in Australia have substantial behavioural components. These reports recommend that behavioural risk factors (e.g., smoking, diet, a sedentary lifestyle, stress, drug and alcohol use, and high risk sexual behaviour) be the main focus of efforts in the area of health promotion and disease prevention.

Both the impacts of behaviour on health as well as the influence of health and disease states on psychological factors are being explored. For example, psychosocial and physiological linkages in chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and respiratory disorders, are being defined. Additionally, strategies to enhance patient adherence to recommended medical and lifestyle health-related changes are an area of speciality of Health Psychologists. Further, health psychologists play a role in the training and supervision of health and allied health professionals in basic health behaviour change techniques. This may involve work with diabetes educators, primary care practitioners (i.e. Lifescripts), and staff in cardiac rehabilitation programs.

Current directions

This is a period of rapid change in health care delivery. The college, as part of the Australian Psychological Society, is working to disseminate knowledge of effective health psychology practice and establish liaisons between legislators, researchers and psychologist practitioners to ensure access to health psychologists as part of quality health care. Health psychologists are in increasing demand in health and medical settings. Health psychologists have become vital members of multidisciplinary clinical and research teams in rehabilitation, cardiology, paediatrics, oncology, endocrinology, anaesthesiology, family practice, dentistry, community health, and other medical fields. Despite substantial progress, there remain many areas where effective health psychology interventions remain underutilised.  

 

Maintained by Dr Allison Clarke (alclarke@iinet.net.au). 

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