Four Levels of Health Psychology:
We’d like to credit our colleague Dr Martin Harvey for describing these four levels of Health Psychology.
There is a continuum of ‘belief’ in our society (and culture) about:
- what health is,
- what is actually ‘means’ to be healthy,
- how important health is to maintain, and
- what are the best ways to respond to health challenges when they occur.
Our philosophy and paradigm have led us to define clearly what much of this means to us – please review our definitions right here.
We make no judgement on where you are right now!
We invite you to consider taking a 'jump' to the next level of health psychology, whenever it feels right for you!
The four levels of Health Psychology are:
- A Symptomatic health belief
- A Functional health belief
- A Lifestyle health belief
- A Developmental health belief
Expand each of the following sections to learn more about each one:
You either feel GOOD or you fell BAD – and you take action when and if you feel BAD.
You will usually seek healthcare support if you have a ‘problem’ or a ‘pain’
You will often stop that care once that problem goes away – it’s ‘fixed’ or ‘cured’
What you want is a treatment.
You may quit early if the ‘problem’ doesn’t resolve in a short period of time
At this level, "How I feel" is what is important
You understand that underneath a symptom is something not functioning properly.
You know that symptoms come on later in a disease process, you don’t necessarily wait for pain to explore a healthcare intervention.
You’re interested in your tests and outcomes – the things that show dysfunction
But health is primarily a physical measurement
You understand the value of a check-up, but a check-up is every few months to six months, maybe once a year.
At this level, "How I am 'working'" is what is important
You get that how you function affects every aspect of your daily experience of life.
You see that your health impacts your ability to work, to look after your kids, to think clearly, to perform better, to have more loving relationships and so much more.
At the lifestyle level, you can see the value of your kids having regular care to be both preventative and proactive. To help them maintain immune function, have a better memory, more energy and inspired life!
At this level, health is important because it "allows you to do what you want to (what you value most)" better!
You see that life is a series of transformations through which we change, integrate, grow and evolve.
Life is more about the journey than the destination.
You understand that having a nervous system functioning at its best, free from interference, with the power of your innate intelligence flowing through your body can help both yourself and your kids grow, perform and experience life at a much greater degree than would ever be possible if you kept living with subluxations interfering with your function and brain-body communication.
At this level, you see health as a measure of how your body is functioning now AND that it affects both your CURRENT lifestyle, as well as your path forward in life.
