This book provides a readable introduction to health psychology and acknowledges that many of its readers will not have a background understanding of psychology. The emphasis is on health and health promotion, the stress and strain of everyday life, communicating effectively with patients and their families, understanding people's motivation to behave healthily or unhealthily. The book also explores examples of how psychological models apply to illness and treatment. The book is organised into three sections. The Section 1 investigates how psychology informs the process of interacting with patients and also colleagues. It addresses how culture influences interpersonal skills and considers how health professionals attempt to change people's attitudes and behaviour regarding health. The Section 2 is concerned with the actual content of health psychology and takes a biopsychosocial approach to explanations of health behaviour including exploring pain and stress in the context of life events, transitions and crises. And, Section 3 deals with some aspects of health psychology, which are sometimes neglected in biopsychosocial models, including the influence of age, environment and organizations. Designed to be user-friendly, the book contains examples, case studies and exercises. For this edition, the author has also highlighted New Research, and provided summaries of recent relevant research findings. Discussion points are provided with some pointers for the reader's consideration. Finally, the author has devised Watch Out points, which aim to clarify points, and issues that students may find particularly difficult or confusing.