Psychosocial Aspects of Illness and Disability

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Understand behavioural observation, objective measures, mental status examination, self-report measures and/or self-monitoring for patient assessment
• Conceptualise cases from a biopsychosocial perspective and identify appropriate evidence based interventions.
• Understand diagnostic nomenclature appropriate to the patient presentation
• Demonstrate significant knowledge of the relevant medical/physiological aspects of symptom presentation in their primary area of focus.
• Understand variables related to health risk assessment.
• Develop and reflect on your basic skills for health psychology work including for example career planning and time management.

This module introduces you to Clinical Health Psychology, a branch of Health Psychology that focuses on the relationship between psychological variables and biomedical conditions. The module deals with the processes of the psychological treatment of, and response to physical illness of patients in the health care system. It will provide you with knowledge and skills relevant to understanding how psychology is applied to the care of the physically ill and how it is applied to maximise the effectiveness of health care delivery. During the module you will study different chronic illnesses and their management and working with patients in the health care system.

Teaching and learning methods

This module includes 12 sessions (11 seminars and 1 tutorial) delivered by the module coordinator and invited internal and external lecturers with expertise in particular topics. Seminars emphasise active learning, and require participation in group discussions, debates, and other activities. A range of teaching and learning activities are used in the seminars, including the use of videos and case studies. In addition to the 11 seminars and tutorial, you will also attend 5 skills workshops associated with this module. To successfully complete the module, you will need to engage in your own personal study.

Opportunities for formative assessment and feedback are built into the module in the form of in-class teaching and learning activities. These may include, for example: small group work and presentations; small-group and whole class discussions; observed exercises; spontaneous and/or planned questions and answers; and individual activity sheets. Staff provide verbal feedback during these activities to help you gauge and develop your knowledge and understanding.

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Sarafino, E. P., Smith TW. (2016). Health psychology: Biopsychosocial Interactions.

Carrie D., Llewellyn CD., Ayers, S., McManus, C., Newman, S., Petrie K.J., Revenson TA., Weinman, J. (Editors) (2019). Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ogden, J. (2019). Health psychology: a textbook. Open University Press.

Bennett, PW. (2021). Clinical Psychology, Research and Practice: An Introductory Textbook. Oxford University Press.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal