10 Ways Health Psychology Can Help You or Your Child
What is Health Psychology?
We usually think of the mind and body as two separate entities. This can be true even if we kind of already know of scientific updates that show how connected they are. If you want, you can blame Descartes and centuries of philosophy and medicine.
Observation of our daily life contradicts this at so many turns. Ever emotionally eat? Ever find your mood or stress lifted by doing some exercise? Ever cry when you’re feeling sad, or find your heart racing when you see someone or something you love?
Despite our improved knowledge of the relationship between physical and mental health, the medical system often forces you to make a choice. Do you want to see a physician, or a psychologist? But this can seem contradictory to our understanding how complex and dynamic our health truly is.
However, given that the mind and body are truly interconnected, finding healthcare providers who not only understand these relationships but can help your child heal and recover THROUGH them can be life-changing.
Health psychology is a field of psychology that researchers and trains clinical specialists in understanding and addressing the overlap between physical and mental health.
More specifically, here is the full definition of health psychology from the American Psychological Association (APA):
Health psychology examines how biological, social and psychological factors influence health and illness. Health psychologists use psychological science to promote health, prevent illness and improve health care systems.
10 Ways Health Psychology May Be Relevant for You
A health psychologist can help you or your child in so many ways. This is not a comprehensive list, but here are some things that may be relevant for you:
Understanding the relationship between the mind and the body
Understanding some aspects of the mind-body connection are intuitive, or taught in everyday life and schools. Others may be more unique to some circumstances, such as chronic illness, chronic pain, and somatic symptoms. When this happens, it can be mystifying, and you may not always understand why some tests or treatments are recommended, and why others aren’t. That can leave you feeling lost, dismissed, and overwhelmed.
A health psychologist can work with you and your family to better understand your condition, dispel myths, and help you communicate better with your support system. Then, you’ll also be better informed to make decisions about next steps in health care.
2. Help navigating the healthcare system
Health psychologists are typically very familiar with the healthcare system. They are often experienced in collaborating with professionals from other backgrounds, like physicians, physical therapists, and more. A health psychologist can help coach you on asking useful questions at your next visit, and work to coordinate your care so it feels more integrative and comprehensive. That way, you don’t feel lost, and you can feel more confident in your decisions and your healthcare providers working together as a team.
3. Adherence to medical and physical treatment protocols
Some things are easier said than done, right? We all know we should be sleeping and eating right, and exercising regularly, but this can be challenging to do in real life. Of course, participating in rehabilitation, taking regular medications, or sticking with a more complex diet can be even more difficult. A health psychologist will partner with you and your medical providers in helping you sustainably stick with your recommendations.
4. Coping with emotions of health conditions
Getting diagnosed and living with an injury, chronic pain, or a chronic illness can feel like a lot sometimes. Sometimes, this can lead to difficult emotions like stress and lower mood than usual. A health psychologist can help you or your child work through emotions of having an injury, pain, or health condition, and find your strength and resilience to thrive.
5. Helping with functional goals and living life
Health concerns can start to take over your daily life and make it harder to do the things you want to do. A health psychologist has expertise in helping you find balance to take care of yourself, but also pursue your dreams.
6. School advocacy
Similarly, for some children, school becomes more difficult when navigating a health condition. Whether it’s working with a particular teacher or seeking a more formal plan such as a Section 504 plan or Individualized Education Plan (IEP), a health psychologist can inform you of your rights, provide supportive documents, and advocate for you with the school.
7. Symptom management
Of course, what may have driven you to seek care for yourself or your child are concerning symptoms. Getting your symptoms evaluated by a medical professional is key. Depending on your diagnosis, a health psychologist can be a part of or even the first-line of treating your symptoms. For instance, psychology is often recommended above and beyond medical interventions for concerns such as insomnia or chronic pain. Focused health psychology can also be helpful for managing blood glucose in diabetes, calming digestive symptoms, and more.
8. Learning and other mental health concerns
A health psychologist can also help you and your child understand more about any possible learning or mental health concerns that may be occurring alongside or in any way connected to your health concerns, and make a plan for addressing them.
9. Whole person care
Overall, a health psychologist is trained and experienced in thinking about you or your child, as a whole person. Rather than a collection of symptoms, or seeing your concerns as disconnected, a health psychologist will work to understand and help your overall health and well being. This might vary- some health psychologists specialize in particular diagnoses, they may not help you with additional concerns and refer you elsewhere. Others will be able to take into account your whole health and mental health in their services with you.
10. Where to find a health psychologist
If you’re interested in health psychology, it can be difficult to know where to look or what to look for.
Health psychologists work in a variety of settings, from hospitals, to primary care clinics, to private practices. Some health psychologists will focus on very specific concerns, such as sleep, pain, or diabetes. Others will help with more than one concern. Similarly, some health psychologists specialize in helping adults, and others help with pediatric ages.
At Pediatric Pain and Behavioral Health, I (Dr. Emily (Foxen-Craft) Scholand) help children, teens, and young adults navigate pain and health concerns with evidence-based health psychology strategies. I have particular expertise in headache and pain management, but I also have experience with pediatric diabetes, cancer, blood disorders, concussion, digestive health, as well as ADHD, mood disorders, and anxiety. I always strive to help children and families better understand their diagnosis, communicate with physicians, cope with their diagnosis and treatment, improve symptoms, and get back to life as the fullest versions of themselves. If you’re interested in learning whether health psychology is right for you or your child, click here for your free consultation call.