health psychologist
Snapshot
Interested in combining psychology with a passion for wellbeing? As a health psychologist, you’ll play a vital role in helping individuals and communities improve their health and manage illness, using psychological principles to promote positive change.
Health psychologists work at the intersection of psychology and healthcare. Your days might involve counseling individuals struggling with chronic illness, designing health promotion programs for organizations, conducting research to understand health behaviors, or advising on public health policy. This role requires a strong understanding of psychological science and the ability to apply it to real-world health challenges. You'll be involved in preventing illness, encouraging healthy habits, and supporting people through difficult health journeys.
- • Providing counseling and psychological support to individuals and groups facing health-related challenges.
- • Developing and implementing health promotion programs and interventions, based on psychological research.
- • Conducting research on health behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs to inform interventions and policy.
Interested in combining psychology with a passion for wellbeing? As a health psychologist, you’ll play a vital role in helping individuals and communities improve their health and manage illness, using psychological principles to promote positive change.
Could health psychologist fit you?
Answer three quick questions. This is not a full assessment — it is a teaser to help you decide whether to compare your profile.
Do you enjoy tasks that require Analytical Thinking?
Do you enjoy tasks that require Persistence?
Do you enjoy tasks that require Initiative?
Future Outlook for health psychologist
The outlook for health psychologist is exceptionally stable. While AI tools will assist with daily tasks, the core of this role relies on human judgment, resulting in a high resilience score of 82.4%.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could health psychologist change as AI adoption grows?
Human judgement, trust, and context remain strong protectors for this role.
How could health psychologist change as AI adoption grows?
Human judgement, trust, and context remain strong protectors for this role.
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
This role remains strongly human-led where analyse health damaging behaviours depends on trust, nuance, and real-world judgement.
Where AI may become a co-pilot
AI is more likely to assist supporting tasks such as analyse processes influencing health care delivery, documentation, search, and workflow coordination.
Tasks most exposed to automation
Automation pressure appears selective rather than broad, with the strongest signal currently coming from Generative AI.
Detailed Analysis Vital Signs, AI Vectors & Megatrends
Show more Close
Vital Signs, AI Vectors & Megatrends
Vital Signs
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Megatrend Signals
0-100%Model-derived scores. Indicates structural exposure to megatrends, not direct demand.
Technical Details
NexFuture™ v2.0 combines O*NET ability and activity profiles with ESCO skill group distributions and six global megatrend signals. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture™ Methodology White Paper for full details.
What people in this role usually do
Healthcare & Human Services
A typical day as a health psychologist
09 09:00 · Morning analyse health damaging behaviours
10 10:30 · Mid-morning analyse processes influencing health care delivery
12 12:00 · Midday apply health psychological measures
14 14:00 · Afternoon encourage healthy behaviours
15 15:30 · Late afternoon provide health counselling
17 17:00 · Wrap-up provide psychological health assessment strategies
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
-
clinical reports
The methods, assessment practices, credentials and opinions gathering procedures necessary for writing clinical reports.
-
emergency psychology
The methods used for coping with trauma or disasters.
-
evaluation of psychological performance
The characteristics of the methods used to assess psychological parameters.
-
health psychology
The development, implementations and evaluation of health psychological concepts.
-
psychological healthcare services
The characteristics of the psychological healthcare services in the inpatient and outpatient sector.
-
psychological interventions
The characteristics of the methods and procedures meant to instigate change in human behaviour.
- consultation
-
encourage healthy behaviours
Encourage the adoption of healthy behaviours such as exercise, a healthy diet, oral hygiene, health checks and preventative medical screenings.
-
inform policy makers on health-related challenges
Provide useful information related to health care professions to ensure policy decisions are made in the benefit of communities.
-
advise policy makers in healthcare
Present research to policy makers, health care providers, and educators to encourage improvements in public health.
-
provide health psychological advice
Provide health psychological expert opinions, reports and advice in regard to health related risk behaviour and its causes.
-
help healthcare users develop social perceptiveness
Provide strategies and support to healthcare users with social difficulties. Help them understanding others` verbal and non-verbal behaviour and actions. Support them in developing better self-confidence in social situations.
-
advise on healthcare users' informed consent
Ensure patients/clients are fully informed about the risks and benefits of proposed treatments so they can give informed consent, engaging patients/clients in the process of their care and treatment.
-
employ cognitive behaviour treatment techniques
Employ cognitive behavioural treatment techniques for those whose treatment involves cognitive re-training, addressing dysfunctional emotions, maladaptive behaviours and cognitive processes and contents through a variety of systematic procedures.
-
apply health psychological measures
Apply health psychological measures on persons of all ages and groups regarding health behavior, particularly with regard to health related risk behaviors such as diet, exercise, smoking, including advice in relation to the promotion and maintenance of health and the prevention of health risks, taking into account leisure and work.
-
analyse psychological aspects of illness
Analyse the psychological impact of illness on individuals, close ones, and caregivers and use psychological interventions to promote self-management, helping patients cope with pain or illness, improve their quality of life and mitigate the effects of disability and handicap.
-
interpret psychological tests
Interpret psychological tests in order to obtain information on patients' intelligence, achievements, interests, and personality.
-
perform therapy sessions
Work in sessions with individuals or groups to deliver therapy in a controlled environment.
-
use clinical assessment techniques
Use clinical reasoning techniques and clinical judgement when applying a range of appropriate assessment techniques, such as mental status assessment, diagnosis, dynamic formulation, and potential treatment planning.
-
test for emotional patterns
Discern patterns in the emotions of individuals by using various tests in order to understand the causes of these emotions.
-
conduct psychological assessement
Assess patient`s behaviour and needs via observation and tailored interviews, administering and interpreting psychometric and idiosyncratic assessments.
-
provide health psychological diagnosis
Analyse persons and groups of persons using health psychological methods in relation to the various aspects of health behaviour and its causes.
-
assess healthcare users' risk for harm
Evaluate if healthcare users might potentially be a threat themselves or others, intervening to minimise the risk and implement prevention methods.
-
contribute to continuity of health care
Contribute to the delivery of coordinated and continuous healthcare.
-
formulate a case conceptualisation model for therapy
Compose an individualised treatment plan in collaboration with the individual, striving to match his or her needs, situation, and treatment goals to maximise the probability of therapeutic gain and considering any possible personal, social, and systemic barriers that might undermine treatment.
-
respond to healthcare users' extreme emotions
React accordingly when a healthcare user becomes hyper-manic, panicky, extremely distressed, agressive, violent, or suicidal, following appropriate training if working in contexts where patients go through extreme emotions regularly.
-
follow clinical guidelines
Follow agreed protocols and guidelines in support of healthcare practice which are provided by healthcare institutions, professional associations, or authorities and also scientific organisations.
-
adhere to organisational guidelines
Adhere to organisational or department specific standards and guidelines. Understand the motives of the organisation and the common agreements and act accordingly.
-
promote inclusion
Promote and respect diversity, and advocate for equal treatment of genders, ethnicities and minority groups in organisations in order to prevent discrimination and ensure inclusion and a positive environment.
-
comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
Apply quality standards related to risk management, safety procedures, patients feedback, screening and medical devices in daily practice, as they are recognized by the national professional associations and authorities.
-
comply with legislation related to health care
Comply with the regional and national health legislation which regulates relations between suppliers, payers, vendors of the healthcare industry and patients, and the delivery of healthcare services.
-
ensure safety of healthcare users
Make sure that healthcare users are being treated professionally, effectively and safe from harm, adapting techniques and procedures according to the person's needs, abilities or the prevailing conditions.
-
respond to changing situations in health care
Cope with pressure and respond appropriately and in time to unexpected and rapidly changing situations in healthcare.
-
manage health promotion activities
Plan, implement and evaluate health promotion activities and projects in different settings such as kindergarten and school, workplace and business, social living environment and primary health care, particularly in the context of projects.
-
educate on the prevention of illness
Offer evidence-based advice on how to avoid ill health, educate and advise individuals and their carers on how to prevent ill health and/or be able to advise how to improve their environment and health conditions. Provide advice on the identification of risks leading to ill health and help to increase the patients' resilience by targeting prevention and early intervention strategies.
-
provide health education
Provide evidence based strategies to promote healthy living, disease prevention and management.
Skill DNA
Work personality traits and values that define this role
See whether this role fits your Career DNA
Take the free Career DNA assessment to see how health psychologist aligns with your interests, work style, and future path. In less than 10 minutes, you will get a personalized fit signal and a roadmap for what to do next.
Scan to continue on mobileGrowth Pathways & Similar Roles
Explore typical career progression paths, adjacent skills, and similar roles to plan your next transition.
Where does health psychologist fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
Frequently asked questions
- What kind of health issues do health psychologists typically address?
- Health psychologists work with a wide range of issues, including chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease, mental health conditions impacting physical health, behavioral risk factors (smoking, poor diet), adherence to medical treatments, and coping with pain and trauma related to health events.
- Is a doctoral degree required to become a health psychologist?
- Generally, a doctoral degree (PhD or PsyD) in clinical psychology with a specialization in health psychology is expected. This provides the necessary training in research, assessment, and intervention techniques relevant to health settings.
- What are the typical career paths for health psychologists?
- Health psychologists often find employment within hospitals, clinics, research institutions, public health agencies, or universities. While primarily an employee-based role, many health psychologists also establish private practices to offer individual counseling and consultation services.