Personality Characteristics and Health Psychology
Running head: PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS AND HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
Personality Characteristics and Health Psychology
Introduction
In the field of psychology, a growing interest in the interaction between physical and mental health has become apparent. Psychologists are beginning to realize the importance of treating a client as a whole unit with many working elements that are interdependent on each other. The term coined currently is the biopsychosocial approach. Here, it is recognized that the client's psychological makeup is interdependent on their current biological state, which is also dependent on the social spheres the client finds themselves in. The focus of this paper is to highlight the importance of the way in which a person's physical, psychological and social components interact.
The cross-over between psychology and physical health has taken two major distinctions: Health psychology and behavioral medicine. Health psychologist work in the areas of prevention, emphasizing healthy life style practices. Those of the behavioral medicine paradigm deal with clients that have illnesses (i.e.; atherosclerosis), and help them to live healthier lifestyles in order to reverse their condition, or help cope with their particular problem. For the purposes of this paper, the terms health psychology and behavioral medicine will be captured collectively under the term wellness psychology'. This term was chosen because it encompasses the lifestyle roles that people must practice in order to lead healthy lives. Invariably, psychologists of all modalities must deal with a variety of personality traits in their clients. Some traits may be helpful in the person's everyday life. Other characteristics however may hinder how they function in their home, at work, or even at play. The perspective taken by a growing population of professionals has been that these traits, or personality characteristics, are better described as roles that can be played.
Personality Characteristics and Health Psychology
Introduction
In the field of psychology, a growing interest in the interaction between physical and mental health has become apparent. Psychologists are beginning to realize the importance of treating a client as a whole unit with many working elements that are interdependent on each other. The term coined currently is the biopsychosocial approach. Here, it is recognized that the client's psychological makeup is interdependent on their current biological state, which is also dependent on the social spheres the client finds themselves in. The focus of this paper is to highlight the importance of the way in which a person's physical, psychological and social components interact.
The cross-over between psychology and physical health has taken two major distinctions: Health psychology and behavioral medicine. Health psychologist work in the areas of prevention, emphasizing healthy life style practices. Those of the behavioral medicine paradigm deal with clients that have illnesses (i.e.; atherosclerosis), and help them to live healthier lifestyles in order to reverse their condition, or help cope with their particular problem. For the purposes of this paper, the terms health psychology and behavioral medicine will be captured collectively under the term wellness psychology'. This term was chosen because it encompasses the lifestyle roles that people must practice in order to lead healthy lives. Invariably, psychologists of all modalities must deal with a variety of personality traits in their clients. Some traits may be helpful in the person's everyday life. Other characteristics however may hinder how they function in their home, at work, or even at play. The perspective taken by a growing population of professionals has been that these traits, or personality characteristics, are better described as roles that can be played.
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