Health Psychology


The Health Psychology Section of APA Division 17 is dedicated to the science, practice, and advocacy of counseling psychology in health-related contexts. This is conducted through research with medical, rehabilitation, or other health-related populations, direct service to individuals across their lifespan (e.g., prevention, adjustment to and recuperation from illness, healthy lifestyle changes, psychological concomitants of medical illnesses), teaching and training of graduate students or the education of other health care professionals, or development of health policy.

Members of the Section have an interest in or actively participate in the science, practice, and advocacy of counseling psychology in health-related contexts through an array of activities. Specifically, the purpose of the Section is as follows:

  • To support the role of counseling psychologists as active participants in the field of health psychology, disease prevention, health disparities, health education, behavioral medicine, rehabilitation, and related areas;
  • To promote counseling psychologists as valuable contributors to the field of health psychology, disease prevention, health disparities, health education, behavioral medicine, rehabilitation, and related areas;
  • To promote well controlled research concerning the effectiveness as well as the costs of counseling interventions on health and disease-related variables and outcomes;
  • To advance efforts toward the integration of practice, science, and advocacy and further the evaluative, scientific, and applied activities of Section members;
  • To promote and support the education and training of counseling psychologists who are interested in health related fields;
  • To bring together counseling psychologists and counseling psychologists-in-training who specialize and/or have an interest in health psychology, disease prevention, health disparities, health education, behavioral medicine, rehabilitation, and related areas and to provide a forum for individuals interested in health-related areas to exchange ideas and network with one another.

 Check out our Section’s webpages using the links below:


Section Chair

Amanda Mitchell, PhD
Term: 2022-2024
Amanda.Mitchell(at)louisville.edu