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Home Department of Psychology Graduate Clinical Health Psychology

Clinical Psychology Program - Clinical Health Concentration

Leslie A. Robinson
Director
Phone: (901) 678-1667
Office: 334

This specialty area is housed within the Clinical Psychology Program. Health Psychology is broadly concerned with studying the intersection of psychology and health. This includes using psychological theories and intervention approaches to understand, prevent, and treat medical conditions and health-compromising behaviors. The Clinical Health Psychology faculty at the University of Memphis is primarily interested in studying risky health-related behaviors, with a special emphasis on addictive behaviors. Faculty interests range from laboratory studies that examine the basic decision making processes related to health risk and addictive behaviors (using cognitive, social learning, and behavioral economic models), to large scale epidemiology and prevention studies, to clinical trials evaluating treatments for a range of health-risk and addictive behaviors (e.g., alcohol, gambling, illicit drugs, obesity/sedentary behavior, tobacco). Promotion of healthful behaviors and evaluation of the psychosocial consequences of disease also receive serious attention. Please see the affiliated faculty web pages for more detailed information.

Clinical Psychology students who specialize in Clinical Health Psychology complete all of the general Clinical Psychology coursework and training experiences. In addition to this strong generalist training, they receive supplemental specialized training in the research and practice of Clinical Health Psychology. This includes coursework related to the practice of psychology in medical settings, the effects of medical illness on cognitive and emotional functioning, theories and models of health behavior change, and empirically supported intervention approaches. Clinical Health Psychology students also complete clinical training in a variety of settings, including Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, University Health Care Centers, and Pediatric and Adult Cancer Hospitals/Clinics. In the same way, Clinical Health Psychology students have access to unique research experiences within the broader biomedical community in Memphis, which includes a medical school, several nursing schools, schools for other health care providers, and hospitals for both adults and children, including the internationally known St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Within our own university, our students have the opportunity to access specialized training in our new School of Public Health, as well as in allied areas, such as health-care economics, health communication, and sport sciences.

This specialty has a strong research emphasis and is well-suited to students who aspire to academic and/or medical setting positions as career goals. Funding is excellent for researchers trained in this area, and the job market for Clinical Health Psychologists is quite strong.

Faculty

Primary Affiliates

  • Frank Andrasik, Ph.D.
  • Andrew W. Meyers, Ph.D. (Emeritus)
  • James G. Murphy, Ph.D.
  • Leslie Robinson, Ph.D.
  • James Whelan, Ph.D.

Secondary Affiliates

  • Kristoffer S. Berlin Ph.D.
  • Meghan E. McDevitt-Murphy, Ph.D.