Modules

Applications and practice of health psychology
You apply health psychology theory to practice to develop and assess a range of interventions to • illness prevention • health promotion • specific health-related conditions.

You consider the practical issues of ethics and the legal obligations and restrictions on health psychologists. You are assessed by a group project in which you design and evaluate a health intervention based on a given scenario.

Healthcare contexts: work-based reflection
The type of healthcare practice affects the professional and the service user and can contribute to shaping the relationship between them. You reflect on theory in practice to produce a professional development portfolio.

You need to be able to critically reflect on your experiences at work within a health setting as it is essential for your professional development, and for your future employability or further study (stage two training).

Health cognitions and behaviour
You focus on the health psychology models and theories that aim to explain health behaviours and reactions to symptoms and illness. As much of health psychology research is based on these models, you consider their contribution to practical applications, such as quitting smoking and coping with chronic disease. Assessment includes an essay and short answer test.

Individual differences in health and illness
Personality can influence how people deal with their health and illness. It is important for health psychologists to be aware of this when dealing with clients, designing healthcare interventions or health education campaigns.

You research this topic and write an essay on how individual differences impact on a health condition of your choice. You also produce a leaflet to educate the public about the key issues you identify.

Lifespan, gender and cross-cultural perspectives on health and illness
You discuss and analyse different health and illness theories and apply your understanding to health psychology practice. You study four areas including • lifespan development • the Biopsychosocial Model • health and illness across the lifespan • managing long-term illness and disability.

All these are related to gender and culture. Assessment is an essay and a problem-based learning task.

Perspectives, contexts and issues in health research and practice
You learn about health issues from sociological and epidemiological perspectives. This helps you to explore the complexities of health and health-related behaviours.

Psychobiological determinants of health
You focus on the biological mechanisms of health, stress and illness. Understanding the relationship between behaviour and these mechanisms can aid the development of new therapies and interventions.

You study the psychobiological explanations of health and illness, and learn how these explanations can inform the development of therapies.

Research methods and measurement issues in health psychology
You examine advanced qualitative and quantitative health research data analysis. You learn how to identify, select, explain and evaluate research methods within an ethical framework.

You study • health-related behaviour • quality of life • experimental design • cross sectional and longitudinal designs • health services research • individual case studies.

Health psychology research project
You conduct a self-directed piece of research supervised by a health psychologist. You present your findings verbally at a research conference, and in written form as a journal article. These are assessed.