Vera Araujo-Soares
I am a Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, UK. An EHPS member since 1997, I attended 17 EHPS conferences, served on two previous ECs, was as a member of CREATE and Synergy organizing committees for 5 years and was an editor of the EHP. My research focuses on the development and evaluation of complex interventions for the promotion of health behaviours, prevention and self-management of chronic conditions. I am passionate about translating theory and empirical evidence into practice and by doing so, refining theory.
I am very honoured to be the President of this Society that has contributed so much for my training. My priorities for the next two years are to:
- contribute to further improve our communication with our members (it is becoming easier to read the emails sent by the society);
- professionalise the processes designed to facilitate the management of this society and its webpage
- increase opportunities for research and collaboration between our members;
- invest in legacy events;
- support the work of our UN subcommittee in order to understand how to influence policy and support the UN in the complex implementation process of its SDG’s for the health of the population and the planet.
I am very fortunate to have such a great team in this EC and also an active membership with outstanding expertise and engagement across Europe. I aim to draw on the expertise of our members and fellows to make sure that we progress towards these goals: together we are strong and can promote change.
There is one final thing that we would like to embark on: mapping the history thus far of the EHPS and adding to this the potential impact of this Society.
I am a Professor in Clinical Health Psychology at the Department of Psychology, University of Crete, Greece. For more than a decade, I served as the Head of the Counselling Center for Students at the University of Crete. In addition, I served as Head of the Department of Psychology, University of Crete for two years. I currently collaborate with the University of Crete Medical School, and the Faculty of Nursing and the Dental School at the University of Athens, and I am actively involved in the activities of local associations for the support of patients suffering from cancer. I have been a member of the European Health Psychology Society since 2002 and I was the Greek National Delegate for several years (2004 – 2010). Also, I have helped in the organization of seven EHPS conferences as a Scientific Program Track Chair or as a member of the Scientific Committee, and I was the Chair of the Organizing Committee and President of the 25th EHPS Conference in Crete. For the last two years, I served as a co-opted member of the EHPS Executive Committee (National Delegate Officer). This year, I was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Society. My research interests include patient adaptation to chronic illness, the role of stress and related factors in health and illness, individual differences in health, self-regulation and dyadic regulation. Currently, I am a member of the editorial board in seven international journals and an Assoc. Editor of Translational Behavior Medicine. As President-Elect, I plan to focus on the strengthening of the international impact of the EHPS, as well as on the enhancement of the collaboration with local national health psychology societies/organizations.