EHPS National Delegate

Support the EHPS to deliver its aim of helping individuals, families, and societies to better cope with life challenges related to illness and health, by promoting rigorous science, health promotion interventions, and close collaborations.

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Spain

Álvaro Ruiz Maciá

Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche

In Spain, psychological practice in the healthcare field is mainly organised around two regulated professional pathways. Clinical Psychology is a healthcare specialty, obtained through the national residency system, and it is generally required for psychologists working in the National Health System or in publicly funded healthcare services. General Health Psychology, regulated in 2011, is accessed through the official Master’s Degree in General Health Psychology and enables psychologists to carry out assessment, research and psychological interventions related to behavioural and psychological factors involved in the promotion and improvement of health, provided that these activities do not require specialised care.
However, the legal framework still does not clearly define the boundaries and competencies between Clinical Psychology and General Health Psychology. In practice, Clinical Psychology is treated as the specialist qualification, while Health Psychology/General Health Psychology has a less visible and less clearly delimited professional status. For this reason, further regulation would be useful to clarify the scope, competencies and contribution of Health Psychology in Spain, particularly in prevention, health promotion and healthcare settings.
Main legal references
Ley 33/2011, de 4 de octubre, General de Salud Pública, Disposición adicional séptima, sobre regulación de la psicología en el ámbito sanitario.
Orden ECD/1070/2013, de 12 de junio, sobre los requisitos del Máster en Psicología General Sanitaria.
Real Decreto 2490/1998, de 20 de noviembre, por el que se crea y regula el título oficial de Psicólogo Especialista en Psicología Clínica.
Orden SAS/1620/2009, de 2 de junio, por la que se aprueba el programa formativo de la especialidad de Psicología Clínica. https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2013-6412

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AEPSIS – Asociación Española de Psicología Sanitaria.
AEPSIS is a Spanish association focused on promoting Health Psychology and strengthening the professional community of health psychologists. Its activities include training, dissemination, professional networking and advocacy for the inclusion of psychologists in healthcare systems, particularly in primary care. The association also seeks to promote quality standards in psychological assessment and intervention.

SEPCyS – Sociedad Española para el Avance de la Psicología Clínica y de la Salud Siglo XXI.
SEPCyS was founded in 2001 with the aim of promoting, defending and disseminating Clinical and Health Psychology in Spain, both in academic and healthcare contexts. It supports the scientific development of the field through research, teaching, professional practice and collaboration with public and private healthcare institutions. Its work also contributes to the debate on the regulation, training and professional recognition of psychologists working in clinical and health-related settings.

List of some of the Universities that offer Masters in Health Psychology:
Autonomous University of Barcelona
National Distance Education University
Juan Carlos University
Complutense University of Madrid
University of Barcelona
University of Valencia
University of Zaragoza
University Miguel Hernández of Elche
List of several Universities that offer PhD programs in Health Psychology :
Autonomous University of Barcelona
University of Valencia
University of Girona
National Distance Education University
Universidad of Granada

There is no Agency thta specifically funds research on Health Psychology

No information