ABSTRACT
Health psychologists can be found in a variety of different professional settings and roles, from clinics and research to teaching, consulting, and government roles. Health psychologists have worked to understand the biological, psychological, and social factors that affect health, health behaviour, and illness. Health psychology can be viewed as a sub-discipline of behavioural medicine, which is part of the broader public health, healthcare, and medical domains. Behavioural medicine careers include any profession that “promote[s] healthy behaviours to improve health and well-being”. Most doctoral students are expected to maintain an active research program in collaboration with faculty members throughout their training to enhance the breadth and sophistication of their research skills. Health psychologists need to be proficient in a variety of professional skills: communication skills, writing, working on a team, and management skills. Clinical health psychologists need to develop an additional set of competencies, including assessment techniques, intervention skills, consultation skills, and supervision skills.
