Health and Psychology

Many people do not understand what a health psychologist actually does.  I was talking with my neighbor yesterday who thought I was a scientist and was surprised to see my picture in the paper listed as a psychologist.  I was talking with my brother who has complications from diabetes and reminded him I can work with him on setting up a diet and exercise plan, help him with understanding his medications, make referrals so he can be treated for depression, etc.

Health psychology works with how the body works medically and how the person copes with it.  In some cases the issues are mainly psychological.  In other cases the issues are mainly medical.  In many cases the issues are about dealing with complexity of all the changes that come about with a medical condition.

Let me illustrate with a couple of case examples.  A veteran comes back from Iraq or Afghanistan with a shoulder injury from an improvized explosive devise.  He now has limited arm movement.  His wife has to dress him, bathe him, and help him get around to places.  Then I get involved.  I explain how the brain can generate new neural pathways.  I help him get access to resources that will allow him to bathe himself and dress himself again.  I explain how he can get assistance through the agencies that are available to him.  I can treat psychological trauma or the depression that comes with lifestyle changes.  I can assist in helping him learn about agencies that can get him work or training.

The parent of a high functioning autistic child is at her wit's end.  The school is calling daily.  The school says the child doesn't need special classes because they aren't disabled enough.  SO I talk to the parent and the child.  A 504 plan is implemented at the school by a behavior specialist.  Accommodations testing is implemented to assist in any standardized tests the school does so the child will continue to excell.  Assistance to the family can be provided in behavior support plans, assistive technology (door alarms, plans for identifying triggers to assault or assistance to reduce distraction).  Other agencies can assist with respite care, SSDI funding, school and classroom accommodations, new technology for text to speech or picture boards for identification of what someone wants when speech problems are an issue.

A person came to see me because of a complex medical condition with about 7 current diagnoses all in autoimmune disorders.    They now have 5 treating physicians and 10 new medications.  So I can review all the medications, all the information about the illnesses, help set up ways to manage the medications, doctor's appointments, and sharing of history and medical records.

The goal in all these cases is to help people manage their lives by themselves, to understand what's happening with them and to feel like they can again have some control over what's going to happen.  That helps lessen psychological symptoms such as depression or anxiety.

Psychological and neuropsychological testing can help with differential diagnosis and can document response to intervention or to specific treatment modalities.

The goal in all these situations is to help someone get back to having the best life they can.