The clinical health psychology subarea is designed to prepare doctoral students for careers as scientists and scientist-practitioners in the areas of health psychology and behavioral medicine.
In addition to the graduate core curriculum and the clinical psychology core curriculum, students specializing in clinical health psychology will have the opportunity to pursue coursework and practical training experiences that will prepare them to work in academic/medical settings. The didactic and practical training experiences focus on the integration of psychosocial and biomedical processes.
Complementing the core faculty in the clinical health psychology training, students will also be trained by practicing health psychologists and physicians who are associate faculty members in our training concentration.
For more details, see the clinical health curriculum, or find affiliated faculty in the department directory.
Coordinator: Dr. Heather Gunn
Clinical Health Psychology Pro-Seminar
The Clinical Health Psychology Pro-Seminar is a weekly meeting in which students and faculty in the CHP concentration meet to discuss clinical and research issues, hear outside speakers, and plan subarea activities. We encourage undergraduate students working in CHP research groups to attend, and we warmly welcome all members of the Capstone and Tuscaloosa communities who have an interest in health psychology or behavioral medicine.
For more information, please contact Dr. Gunn at hegunn@ua.edu.
Clinical Experiences
Clinical training experiences include assessment and intervention for medical patients seen through our Psychology Clinic; inpatient and outpatient experiences with faculty from the internal medicine department in the UA Medical School Family Practice Residency; assessment and treatment of sleep disorders at an accredited Sleep Disorders Center; assessment and treatment services at the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center; and consultation-liaison training at a private internal medicine practice.
New opportunities for research collaboration and training are being actively pursued. Students are also encouraged to create specialized practicum experiences in collaboration with health providers in the community, and this has been done in such areas as neuropsychology and pain management.
Cross-Discipline Training and Research
The centerpiece of the clinical health psychology curriculum, in addition to the pro-seminar described above, is a survey course in behavioral medicine. Also, students may individualize their training experiences by taking courses or conducting research related to other subareas in the department. Crossover training with the clinical geropsychology subarea and the social psychology subarea are especially encouraged.