Specialty Competencies in Clinical Health Psychology

As professional psychology has transformed into the practice of psychology as a health profession, a substantial focus has been placed on defining the competencies required for practicing as health service providers. Not all health service providers, however, acquire the essential competencies needed for functioning in medical hospitals and health science center settings, the province of clinical health psychology. It is important to distinguish competencies for practicing as health service providers from competencies for the specialty practice of clinical health psychology.

In Specialty Competencies in Clinical Health Psychology, Larkin and Klonoff provide a comprehensive overview of recent efforts to define specialty competencies for the practice of clinical health psychology. They have been at the table for every national conversation focusing on this topic and share this knowledge with those who desire to become clinical health psychologists and those who train and supervise them.


Series in Specialty Competencies in Professional Psychology

Series Editors
Arthur M. Nezu and Christine Maguth Nezu

As the field of psychology continues to grow and new specialty areas emerge and achieve recognition, it has become increasingly important to define the standards of professional specialty practice.

Developed and conceived in response to this need for practical guidelines, this series presents methods, strategies, and techniques for conducting day-to-day practice in any given psychology specialty. The topical volumes address best practices across the functional and foundational competencies that characterize the various psychology specialties, including clinical psychology, cognitive and behavioral psychology, school psychology, geropsychology, forensic psychology, clinical neuropsychology, couples and family psychology, and more. Functional competencies include common practice activities like assessment and intervention, while foundational competencies represent core knowledge areas such as ethical and legal issues, cultural diversity, and professional identification. In addition to describing these competencies, each volume provides a definition, description, and development timeline of a particular specialty, including its essential and characteristic pattern of activities, as well as its distinctive and unique features.

Written by recognized experts in their respective fields, volumes are comprehensive, up-to-date, and accessible. These volumes offer invaluable guidance to not only practicing mental health professionals, but those training for specialty practice as well.

Kevin T. Larkin, Ph.D., ABPP, is Professor of Psychology and Department Chair, Department of Psychology, West Virginia University.

Elizabeth A. Klonoff, Ph.D., ABPP, is Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University and Professor of Psychiatry at University of California San Diego, where she serves as the SDSU Co-Director of the Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology.