Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Treatment Manual

by Sabine Wilhelm PhD, Katharine A. Phillips MD, Gail Steketee PhD

Overview

Presenting an effective treatment approach specifically tailored to the unique challenges of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), this book is grounded in state-of-the-art research. The authors are experts on BDD and related conditions. They describe ways to engage patients who believe they have defects or flaws in their appearance. Provided are clear-cut strategies for helping patients overcome the self-defeating thoughts, impairments in functioning, and sometimes dangerous ritualistic behaviors that characterize BDD. Clinician-friendly features include step-by-step instructions for conducting each session and more than 50 reproducible handouts and forms; the large-size format facilitates photocopying.

See also the related self-help guide by Dr. Wilhelm, Feeling Good about the Way You Look, an ideal recommendation for clients with BDD or less severe body image problems.  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781462510863
Publisher:	Guilford Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	12/05/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	324
Sales rank:	942,685
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Sabine Wilhelm, PhD, is Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Chief of Psychology and Director of the Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Related Disorders Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is Vice Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation, serves on the Scientific Council of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, and is on the editorial boards of eight journals. Dr. Wilhelm's clinical work and research focus on body dysmorphic disorder, OCD, and tic disorders. She is the author of more than 200 articles and book chapters and several books, including the self-help guide Feeling Good about the Way You Look: A Program for Overcoming Body Image Problems, which was cited as a Self-Help Book of Merit by the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT). She is a Fellow of ABCT and the Association for Psychological Science.

Katharine A. Phillips, MD, is Director of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) Program, Director of Research for Adult Psychiatry, and Senior Research Scientist at Rhode Island Hospital, and Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. A Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, she is the recipient of a Special Presidential Commendation from the American Psychiatric Association for her research on BDD. Dr. Phillips has repeatedly been included in Best Doctors in America and Castle Connolly's America's Top Doctors. She has more than 290 scientific publications and has written a number of books on BDD for professionals and the public, including Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder: An Essential Guide.
 
Gail Steketee, PhD, is Dean and Professor at the Boston University School of Social Work. Her scholarly work has focused on developing and testing treatments for obsessive–compulsive spectrum disorders, including obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), body dysmorphic disorder, and hoarding disorder. She has published over 200 articles and chapters and more than a dozen books on these topics. Dr. Steketee is a recipient of the Outstanding Career Achievement Award from the International OCD Foundation and is 2016–2017 President Elect of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. She gives frequent lectures and workshops on hoarding and related conditions  to professional and public audiences in the United States and internationally.

Table of Contents

I. Fundamentals of Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Its Treatment
1. Introduction to BDD
2. Treatment Overview and Roadmap
3. Special Considerations in Treating Patients with BDD
4. Diagnosing and Assessing BDD and Associated Symptoms
5. Enhancing Motivation
II. Introductory Sessions: Laying the Foundation for Successful Treatment
6. Session 1: Assessing BDD, Orienting the Patient to CBT-BDD, and Assessing Motivation
7. Session 2: Education and Case Formulation
8. Session 3: Setting Goals, Describing CBT-BDD, and Assessing Thoughts
III. Core Treatment Components
9. Sessions 4-5: Evaluating Self-Defeating Thoughts
10. Session 6: Introducing Exposure
11. Sessions 7-9: Adding Ritual Prevention
12. Session 10: Perceptual Retraining for Mirror Checking
13. Sessions 11-20: Introducing Advanced Cognitive Strategies and Moving Forward
14. Termination Sessions, Relapse Prevention, and Booster Sessions
IV. Optional Modules for Patients with Relevant Symptoms
15. Skin Picking and Hair Pulling
16. Weight, Shape, and Muscularity
17. Cosmetic Treatment
18. Depression

Interviews

Clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and other mental health practitioners who treat adults and adolescents with body image disturbances.

Editorial Reviews

A very well-structured and comprehensive cognitive behavioral manual for the treatment of body dysmorphic disorder in adults. The level of step-by-step detail that is provided on session structure and content make it a very useful guide for less experienced therapists, while the organizational clarity of the manual makes it an accessible reference resource for the more experienced therapist. One of the very nice features of the manual is the generous supply of clearly indexed questionnaires, information sheets and therapy forms for use in assessment and treatment. Another is that standard aspects of cognitive therapy are helpfully adapted for specific use in the treatment of body dysmorphic disorder….This is a highly readable and very well-resourced manual, written by a very experienced authorship.”

Journal of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy

"BDD entails substantial suffering and requires skilled therapeutic intervention. This unique treatment manual lives up to the stellar reputations of Wilhelm, Phillips, and Steketee. Their systematic treatment is science based, clinically informed, and practitioner friendly. The manual is generous in its provision of reproducible handouts and assessment tools, and it wisely guides therapy that is tailored to the individual client’s needs."—Thomas F. Cash, PhD, Department of Psychology (Emeritus), Old Dominion University

"Wilhelm, Phillips, and Steketee are among a small handful of internationally recognized authorities on the etiology and treatment of BDD and related conditions. It is next to impossible to think of a better qualified group of authors for this definitive treatment manual."—David B. Sarwer, PhD, Departments of Psychiatry and Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

"BDD is a common and often crippling psychiatric disorder, yet too frequently it is not diagnosed or not competently treated. This book fills a critical niche by providing concrete, hands-on guidance for conducting state-of-the-art cognitive-behavioral therapy for BDD. The guidelines in this book will be accessible and useful for a wide range of readers, from students just beginning their training in behavioral therapies to seasoned professionals who are already experienced with BDD. An invaluable addition to the field."—Harrison G. Pope Jr., MD, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

"This essential, richly detailed guide is written at a level of specificity that will enable even the clinician new to working with BDD to be comfortable implementing the strategies. The manual also provides a concise review of the scientific basis for the approach. All clinicians who treat patients with BDD or other clinically meaningful body image disturbances now have a go-to guide to add to their clinical bookshelves."—J. Kevin Thompson, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of South Florida

"Helping patients accept that their problem is psychological rather than medical is a daunting prospect that is at the heart of treatment for BDD. This book encapsulates the wisdom from extensive clinical experience. It provides the therapist with an evidence-based map for navigating the challenges of this disorder, and has relevance for treating other obsessive-compulsive problems as well."—Janet Treasure, PhD, FRCP, FRCPsych, Director, Eating Disorders Research Unit, Kings College London, United Kingdom

From the Publisher