Critical Health Psychology

Abstract

Behaviour oriented health promotion has often relied on over-simplistic and over-deterministic models in which action emanates from individuals, not the social or economic structures they inhabit. Mainstream health psychology models are allied with official health ideology and policy, stressing self-control, self-regulation and responsible (low-cost) health citizenship. Discussion of psycho-political validity and of the use of a wider community of meanings and theories is welcome and moves beyond narrow disciplinary concerns by developing epistemological self-critique. Reflection and critique of psychology and its uses in public health is needed for theoretical and morally reasons and points to inseparability of psychology and politics.