Complementary Medicine and Health Psychology

by van Wersch, Anna; Forshaw, Mark; Cartwright, Tina

• ISBN13: 9780335220113
• ISBN10: 0335220118
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-09-01
• Publisher: Open University Press

Summary

This unique book is the first to bring together the world of health psychology with that of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).The authors draw on their wealth of experience as health psychologists to explore the relationship between health psychology and CAM and look at how an understanding of one can be used to inform the other.Through an open-minded but rigorous approach to CAM, the authors identify where psychology can help to answer some crucial questions, such as why CAM sometimes appears to work, why sometimes it does not, and why some people are drawn to it and others not.Key topics covered include:models of the person health beliefs and experimental psychology placebo research methods in CAM stress, coping and stress management pain and chronic illness communications and interactions between client and therapistWhile CAM has often been dismissed out of hand by scientists, the authors maintain that it deserves attention as a psychological phenomenon alone, regardless of the actual efficacy as understood by existing research.This book's insightful observations on contemporary meanings of health and illness and the future of CAM and health psychology make it important reading for all psychologists and health professionals.

Author Biography

Anna van Wersch is Professor of Psychology at the University of Teesside, UK and a Chartered Health Psychologist.

Mark Forshaw is Principal Lecturer at Staffordshire University, UK and a Chartered Health Psychologist.

Tina Cartwright is Senior Lecturer at the University of Westminster, UK and a Chartered Health Psychologist.

Table of Contents

List of tables and figures	p. vi
Series editors' foreword	p. vii
Acknowledgements	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Complementary medicine in context	p. 3
Models of the person	p. 22
Beliefs and explanations: experimental and non-experimental psychology	p. 48
Research and research methods in complementary and alternative medicine	p. 79
Stress, appraisal, coping, moderators and stress management	p. 96
Managing chronic illness	p. 127
Conclusion	p. 143
Glossary	p. 149
References	p. 155
Index	p. 197
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