Disorders of Body Image - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1871816475 ISBN 13: 9781871816471

Publisher: Routledge, 2002

Synopsis

Disorders of body image, ranging from dysmorphic concern through anorexia and bulimia nervosa to body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), are debilitating, often secret conditions frequently associated with significant psychiatric comorbidity such as depression, social phobia and obsessive compulsive disorder.

For the first time the disparate issues pertaining to body image are examined by international experts who bring different yet complementary viewpoints from the disciplines of neurology, psychiatry, dermatology, cosmetic surgery, psychology and anthropology.

Early chapters assess the concept of body image within neurological and evolutionary contexts and cultural influences on our perceptions of beauty and ugliness, disgust and self-loathing. The remaining chapters focus on the clinical characteristics, causes and possible treatment strategies for BDD, eating disorders and associated psychiatric conditions in adults, adolescents and children.

Accessible to clinicians and researchers alike, this fascinating book will appeal to psychiatrists, general practitioners, neurologists, psychologists and cosmetic surgeons.

About this title

About the Author

David Castle is Professorial Fellow, Mental Health Research Institute and University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Katharine A. Phillips is Director of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Program, Butler Hospital, Rhode Island, USA.

Reviews

An extensive body of empirical research, which has grown dramatically over the past 10 years, has documented the profoundly important influence of body image on the quality of life. The editors of this book have made an important and timely contribution to this literature. Disorders of Body Image, a concise book, consists of 10 chapters by leading clinicians and researchers, a preface by the authors, and an insightful foreword by Thomas F. Cash, a leading body-image researcher. The book is a "must read" for anyone interested in the topic of body image because it expertly reviews some of the most important developments in the field. The editors begin by noting the somewhat elusive nature of body image and operationally define the concept as one that "encompasses our view of how we look, satisfaction with how we look, and how we think others view our appearance." The book focuses almost exclusively on the relation of body image to physical appearance, primarily in psychiatric contexts. This focus necessarily limits its scope. For example, there is no discussion of the myriad medical conditions that are associated with profound and often debilitating distortions of body image, such as cancer, urologic or endocrinologic conditions, AIDS, and stroke. The primary goal of the book is to provide contemporary reviews of psychiatric and neurologic conditions that focus on physical appearance, such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa. The book is intended to "be useful not only to psychiatrists and other mental health professionals but also to neurologists, cosmetic specialists, and others with an interest in the causes, manifestations, and treatment of body image disorders." The editors clearly achieve this goal. The first three chapters provide an important and appropriate biopsychosocial context. Ames's chapter on the neurologic basis of body image harkens back to the historical roots of body-image investigation and reviews the ways in which a contemporary neurologic perspective on body image illuminates important developmental, biologic, and philosophical issues. Philips and Heining's chapter, "Disgust and the Self," provides insight into the relation between emotions and the self, a perspective that has not been articulated in the voluminous literature on body image. The chapter by McNamara, which presents an anthropological perspective on disordered body image, deftly articulates the critical social influences that define one's body image and perception of physical appearance. The chapter by Sarwer and Didie on the body-image-related characteristics of patients who undergo dermatologic and cosmetic surgical procedures is a superlative review of the rapidly growing clinical and empirical understanding of these patients, whose lives are so profoundly affected by body-image concerns. Castle and Phillips, in a chapter that it would benefit any physician to read, greatly expand our understanding of the role of body image in a broad spectrum of psychiatric conditions, including depression and mania, anxiety disorders, and psychoses. The role of body image in eating disorders (bulimia and anorexia nervosa) is admirably reviewed by Kaye, Strober, and Rhodes, who also provide an excellent summary of the many biologic dimensions of these disorders. They include a concise review of psychopharmacologic treatments. Given the many young people who are affected by eating disorders, the dearth of literature on the development of body image in childhood and adolescence is hard to comprehend. However, Olivardia and Pope have made a wonderful contribution to our understanding of the many variables influencing the development of body image, which include the critical effects of puberty and the media and the role of peers and parents. The strongest feature of this book is the very thorough review, in three chapters, of the burgeoning literature on body dysmorphic disorder, defined as "a preoccupation with an imagined defect in appearance." These three chapters, which provide multiple, complementary perspectives, were written by leading authorities on this common, frequently underdiagnosed, and often disabling illness. Phillips and Castle provide a comprehensive review of the history, clinical features, diagnosis, etiologic process, prevalence, and treatment of this disorder. Veale reviews the cognitive-behavioral treatment of the disorder, and Hadley, Newcorn, and Hollander incisively and expertly review its psychopharmacologic treatment. The readers of these three chapters, in particular, will be rewarded with a succinct and state-of-the-art review of body-image issues in relation to body dysmorphic disorder. More generally, the readers of the book will be rewarded with many rich insights into the study of body image. Thomas Pruzinsky, Ph.D.
Copyright © 2002 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1871816475
• ISBN 13: 9781871816471
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288
• Editor: David Castle, Katharine A. Phillips