R137: Psychology and Healthcare

But many chronic and increasingly common diseases, including diabetes, obesity, asthma, heart and vascular diseases, Alzheimer’s, and AIDs, are not only emotionally devastating, but are often compounded by psychological and social issues. This Reading Course examines the increasingly important role for psychotherapy in the health profession—what’s now called biopsychosocial medicine. William Doherty describes how the growing crisis in healthcare delivery presents therapists with a unique opportunity to help revamp the system and expand their practices. Tai Mendenhall takes readers through a week in the life of a medical family therapist working in family medicine and emergency settings. Susan McDaniel explores the world of genomic science and the role therapists can play in helping families make difficult decisions about inheritable, genetically based conditions. Jeri Hepworth describes how a medical family therapist helps couples keep their marriages together in the face of a chronic, life-threatening, or disabling illness in one of the partners.

Course Readings

Fixing Health Care: What Role Will Therapists Play? by William Doherty

Crisis Land: A View From Inside A Behavioral Health Team by Tai Mendenhall

Too Much Information: Field Notes from the Genetics Frontier by Susan McDaniel

When Illness Moves In: Helping Couples Process the Trauma of Sickness by Jeri Hepworth

Learning Objectives

1. Discuss the importance of family therapists in collaborative healthcare.
2. Describe the role of the medical family therapist in the behavioral healthcare crisis team.
3. Explain the intersection of genomic science and psychotherapy.
4. Specify how to best work with couples who are experiencing severe health crises.