Mental and Physical Health: Predicting and Changing Behavior

This book presents a new approach to physical and mental health based on cognitive orientation (CO) theory-an approach that enables understanding, predicting and changing behaviors in different domains. The major tenet of the CO approach is that cognitive beliefs and theme-specific for the behavior or disorder-function as a motivational disposition for that behavior, thus enabling the prediction of its occurrence and a targeted intervention. This monograph presents the theory and methodology of CO with empirical examples in regard to health-affiliated behaviors (e.g., undergoing medical tests, taking medications), mental disorders (e.g. schizophrenia, depression, addiction, ADHD), physical disorders (e.g., cancer diseases, cardiological disorders, skin disorders), coping behaviors (e.g., resilience, post-traumatic growth), and interventions designed to reduce chances of disease recurrence and enhance quality of life. The objective of the book is to describe the contribution of the CO approach to health and to explore the similarities and differences between the characteristic features of mental and physical disorders. It provides a firm innovative psychological basis for understanding mental and physical disorders and providing adequate psychological help for patients suffering from these disorders--ranging from children to adults to cognitively-challenged individuals. This book will be relevant for psychologists, psychology students, psychotherapists, health psychologists, clinical psychologists, medical doctors, psychiatrists, oncologists, and other medical and health professionals.