An Interdisciplinary Perspective for Health Psychology: Bridging Gaps and Transcending Boundaries
Author: Girishwar Misra
Category: Health Studies
Abstract:
The concept of health and well-being provides it such broad scope that it is difficult to confine it to narrow disciplinary boundaries. The complexity of the concept of health and its existential reality, demand an interdisciplinary orientation that attempts at ‘integration’ in order to provide a coherent understanding of holistic health. Though the discipline of Psychology has magnificent contribution in the wide range of health-related domains, it may not be an exaggeration to state that it has had a western inscription to a large extent. The psychological perspective on health requires focusing on the cultural nuances of the contemporary world. It has been proved by research in the field of cross-cultural, cultural psychology and anthropology that many assumptions of western psychology do not hold true in many parts of the world. Contrarily, the Indian perspective offers an explanation throwing light on theideal state of human functioning that constitutes health and well-being as a state of a peaceful, interactions between the body, mind and spirit.