Psychology in Action

Category: Health Psychology and …

  • The Convenience of Therapy on your Computer

    Finding a good therapist is important. As a graduate student in clinical psychology, I am often asked where to find one. Typically, I would recommend the psychology clinic associated with my university, or point them in the direction of therapists who use empirically supported treatments. Yet, there remains several obstacles for reaching a therapist. These include…

  • How Food Companies Market to Children Online

    Keeping children eating healthy foods is one of the most important things one can do as a parent.  And one of the most difficult.  It’s probably no surprise that most food companies market directly to children, spending $1.6 billion a year to do so.  In fact, in 2006 the Institute of Medicine concluded that food…

  • Gene linked to psychological resources

    UCLA psychology graduate student Shimon Saphire-Bernstein and Dr. Shelly Taylor identified the first gene to be linked to the psychological resources of optimism, self-esteem and mastery (the belief that you have control over your own life). They have been getting major media attention for their great scientific contribution. Check out the UCLA press release here. 

  • Does stress make you sick? What we know about stress and the immune system

    How does stress impact your health? That question has been studied intensely by psychoneuroimmunology researchers for over 30 years.

  • So you’re not a therapist?! Definition of Health Psychology

    I am getting my PhD in Health Psychology but I don’t always tell people that when they ask.

  • NY Times doctor ignores decades of research

    A man who can not control his blood sugar levels (he’s diabetic) comes into a medical clinic with gangrene so aggressive that people in the clinic hallway can smell his rotting flesh. This is the story Dr. Pauline W. Chen writes about in her NY Times Health article, “When Doctor’s Advice is Ignored at Home”.

  • FDA New Cigarette Warning Labels

    If you’ve been following the news lately, you may have read about the FDA’s new cigarette warning labels. Beginning in September of 2012, cigarette packages will begin to have warning labels that include pictures and will be displayed much more prominently on packages and in advertisements. Many of the warning labels include photographs of different…

  • What can we learn from the placebo effect?

    An article in The Economist this week – “Think yourself better” – examined the effectiveness of alternative medical treatments such as acupuncture, crystal healing, Reiki channelling, and herbal remedies.  Alternative medicine a booming business.  Survey results released by the US National Institutes of Health found that in 2002 62.1% of adults in the country had…

  • Cutting edge research: environmental influences on genetics

    Throw out what you learned in 9th grade biology class. The age old idea that your genetic profile is static and there is nothing you can do to change the DNA hand you’ve been dealt, is likely not true. A new article in the American Psychological Association’s magazine the Monitor on Psychology nicely reviews the…

  • Children with ADHD have greater likelihood of trying substances and developing substance use disorders.

    Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most commonly diagnosed disorders in childhood. In fact, estimates of the rates of ADHD had found that between 5-10 percent of all children meet diagnostic criteria for the disorder. Children with and without ADHD, at a group level, show several differences, including poorer school performance, more…