New controversies in Health Psychology: A noise free analysis

Practice in health related issues in psychology has been increasingly regulated over the past few years in Spain. New professional profiles such as General Health Psychologist have caused confusion over skills and competences with other existing professionals such as Clinical Psychologists. This circumstance has sometimes caused conflicts among psychology professionals due to misinformation (noise) from academic and professional bodies (COP) over recent legal discussions. Our manuscript tries to carry out a noiseless analysis of the current unresolved controversies surrounding psychology in the health sector that would inevitably affect the development of psychology in this area in Spain. Issues such as the boundaries between both professions, their role and functions in the health sector, the accreditation of new health specialties and the regulation of the Psychology Degree arise. Leaving aside the noise generated by particular interests, this article tries to analyze the options, opportunities and consequences of decision making about these yet to be solved matters. Finally, we encourage all psychology sectors to engage in an open and transparent debate as the only way to achieve a real solution for the critical position of psychology in Spain.