Health psychology in Jamaica: a qualitative analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT As counselling psychology trainees graduate and often serve in health psychology roles or use health psychology theory-guided interventions in their practice and research, training opportunities oriented to health psychology have become increasingly important in training programs. A core value of counselling psychology is the development of competencies for working with diverse populations in various systems, including individuals in global contexts. Jamaica is a small Caribbean nation with numerous interconnections with the United States and where a number of mental health practitioners/psychologists who trained in the US live and work. We interviewed eight mental health practitioners or practitioners-in-training familiar with Jamaica about health psychology on the island to explore the factors that they believed influence the practice of health psychology there. A research team used the methodology of consensual qualitative research (CQR) to analyze the data. Five domains emerged as influential to the growth of health psychology: (1) Definition of Health Psychology, (2) Age of the Profession, (3) Multidisciplinary Approach of Providers and the Public to Mental and Physical Health, (4) Status of Awareness Regarding Health Psychology, and (5) Lack of Resources. We discuss the study limitations, directions for future research, as well as study implications.