What academic field focuses on the study of behavioral health?

The field that focuses on the study of behavioral health is psychology. Psychology examines the mental processes and behaviors of individuals, including how these factors affect health and well-being. This discipline encompasses various areas, including clinical psychology, counseling, and behavioral therapy, which are directly related to understanding and improving mental health.

Through its focus on human behavior and mental processes, psychology provides insights into how various psychological conditions manifest, how they can be treated, and how they relate to overall health. Various therapeutic techniques derived from psychological research are integral to promoting emotional well-being and addressing mental health disorders.

While medicine broadly covers physical health and can include aspects of behavioral health, it does so from a biological and medical standpoint. Sociology and anthropology focus more on social structures and cultural influences on behavior, which, while relevant in a broader context of health, do not specifically center on the psychological aspects like psychology does.