Health and Social Care

Cambridge

TECHNICALS

OCR LEVEL 3 CAMBRIDGE TECHNICAL

CERTIFICATE/DIPLOMA IN

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

A/601/2404 LEVEL 3 UNIT 7 GUIDED LEARNING HOURS: 30 UNIT CREDIT VALUE: 5

PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

A/601/2404 LEVEL 3 UNIT 7

AIM OF THE UNIT

Psychology is the study of the human mind and behaviour. This unit aims to explain the reasons people do the things they do when it comes to health and wellbeing. The mind and the body are interlinked, e.g. stress caused by daily hassles or lifestyle can have a detrimental effect on the body’s immune system and can lead to serious illness. Psychologists have given us many ways to explain human behaviour and this unit is designed to enable learners to apply what they have learnt to their own practice; from helping people overcome emotional problems to dealing with challenging behaviours. The knowledge and understanding gained throughout the unit will benefit all those who work with others, be it people who use services, their friends and family, and other professionals.

A wide range of perspectives is covered which can then be applied to many different health and social care settings. The behaviourists and social learning theorists can help to explain how health related behaviours are learnt as well as ways to teach new behaviours to people who use services. The humanists, on the other hand, provide us with a set of guidelines for working with individuals in a person-centred, non-judgemental manner. By understanding the factors that influence people’s health-related behaviours we can provide interventions that will help people change their lifestyle choices. The debate between nature (those things we are born with) and nurture (that which we learn) has been ongoing since psychology began more than a century ago. Whilst biology investigates the influence of genetics and perhaps explains the pre-disposition some people have...