Most people are aware of psychologists who do therapy through personal experience or the media but there are different subspecialties with the field of psychology. One of those subspecialties is health psychology. Health psychologists look at behavior, emotional factors, and social issues as contributors to medical health and illnesses. These clinical specialists use psychological knowledge to help patients prevent medical illness and assist patients in their treatment when they may have a medical illness. Today, Dr. Howard Gurr, the host for Psychology and You will be talking to Dr. Lubna Somjee about health psychology and cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Lubna Somjee is a clinical and health psychologist. Her practice is in the Hudson Valley, New York. Dr. Somjee obtained her doctoral degree at the University of South Dakota in clinical psychology. She then went on to complete two additional years of specialized post-doctoral fellowship training. Her first postdoctoral fellowship was at the Yale School of Medicine in clinical psychology and her second postdoctoral fellowship in clinical health psychology, at the Veterans Administration in West Haven Connecticut.
Her practice includes providing psychotherapy services to adults, adolescents and couples. She also specializes in health psychology services for individuals with chronic medical illnesses, including heart disease. Such services include helping patients manage their medical health utilizing psychosocial strategies, in addition to their medical treatments. She has consulted to physicians and worked in developing programs to provide psychosocial training and supervision to medical residents and fellows in hospital settings.
Dr. Somjee writes a monthly column in the Poughkeepsie Journal’s health section, titled ‘Mindful Living.’ She provides interviews for national and local media and speaks on topics related to clinical and health psychology. She offers executive coaching and business consultation services focusing on increasing organizational capacity, and wellness. You can find more about Dr. Somjee by going to her website http://www.lubnasomjee-phd.com/.
