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Existential Health Psychology

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Existential Health Psychology
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Abstract

This chapter describes where this conversation fits within the history of psychology. An existentialist rendering of health and well-being fits into the functionalist school of psychology and may be seen in William James as well as many of the humanistic psychotherapists. Existential health psychology is introduced as a new healthcare occupation akin to hospital chaplains, but without any religious presuppositions. Their job is to complement the existing medical professionals. While medical science is directed at the body, existential health psychologists will be directed at the person who must overcome new medical issues, and to help patients adapt to their new, post-injury personalities.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The German was translated into English in 1964.

  2. 2.

    This is a distinction borrowed from Gendlin and Johnson (2004) and Gendlin (2009).

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Correspondence to Patrick M. Whitehead .

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Whitehead, P.M. (2019). Existential Health Psychology. In: Existential Health Psychology. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21355-8_6

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