top of page

Evidence Based Treatment of Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Fugen Neziroglu, Sony Khemlani

2 Feb 2023

Introduction

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is classified under obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders due to its many shared similarities with OCD, including preoccupations associated with engagement in safety behaviors. Patients with BDD have a perceived or imagined defect in their physical appearance, and may engage in behaviors such as mirror gazing, camouflaging, ruminating, skin picking, intense social comparison, and needless dermatological treatment or cosmetic surgery. Though there has been a surge of effective pharmacological and cognitive behavioral treatments in the past ten years, BDD is still under recognized and often misdiagnosed. This seminar will begin with a review of the theoretical and empirical models of the psychopathology of and treatment for BDD. It will continue with discussion of and practical instruction on strategies to mitigate symptoms, such as image rescripting, attentional training, habit reversal, and exposure and response prevention. Through recent and ongoing research, our ability to treat and recognize BDD has dramatically improved our ability to relieve a significant amount of the poor quality of life and social isolation that many patients with BDD experience. This workshop will capitalize on these recent improvements through the emphasis of new cognitive and behavioral treatment strategies for this challenging disorder.


The event will be equivalent to 5.1/2hrs of CPD.

Content

This workshop will:
Outline the diagnostic criteria and specifiers for Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Emphasize specific symptomatology associated with BDD i.e. mirror gazing, social comparison, etc
Underscore appropriate treatment strategies for BDD
Provide step-by-step cognitive behavioural therapy tools to utilize in sessions
Consider the effects of treatment resistance and how to optimize comfort for patients with BDD
Share effective interventions outside of exposure and response prevention i.e. acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive remediation, and image rescripting

Learning Objectives

You will learn:
How to spot and diagnose BDD
Which treatments are appropriate for BDD
How to engage BDD patients in treatment
How to employ cognitive behavioural strategies in BDD treatment
Other appropriate treatments for BDD and how to incorporate them in the treatment plan

Training Modalities

Didactic content, Q&A, video/live roleplay

Key References

About the presenter

Dr. Fugen Neziroglu is the co-founder and executive director of the Bio Behavioral Institute in Great Neck NY where she has specialized in the evidence based treatment of OCD and related disorders for over 40 years. She has presented and published over 175 papers in scientific journals. Additionally, she is the author and co-author of fifteen books on obsessive compulsive spectrum disorders, including, most recently Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Advances in Psychotherapy, Children of Hoarders, Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding and Overcoming Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Her books have been translated into several different languages. She received her Ph.D. in clinical, school-community psychology from Hofstra University and completed her post-graduate work in behavior and cognitive therapy at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is Board Certified in Cognitive and Behavior Therapy from the American Board of Behavioral Psychology (ABBP) and in Clinical Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). Dr. Neziroglu is also a member of many national and international societies and is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the International Obsessive Compulsive Foundation (IOCDF), Anxiety and Mood Disorders Association of America (ADAA) and President of OCDNY. In 2016 she received the lifetime achievement award from the IOCDF for her extensive contribution to the field of OCD.
Sony Khemlani-Patel, Ph.D. is the Clinical Director at the Bio Behavioral Institute in Great Neck, NY where she has specialized in the evidence based treatment of OCD and related disorders for over 20 years. She is on the Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) and Vice President of their non-profit NY State Affiliate (OCDNY). Dr. Khemlani has co-authored three books, the most recent called “Body Dysmorphic Disorder” as part of the Advances in Psychotherapy-Evidence Based Practice series by Hogrefe Publications. She has numerous book chapters and research publications in her field of expertise.

Who should attend

This webinar is most suitable for clinicians who may come across clients presenting with BDD symptoms.

Low Intensity clinical contact hours survey - BABCP Low Intensity Special Interest Group

Please click below if you are interested in contributing to the survey.

 

The BACP Low Intensity SIG are interested in the impact of clinical contact hours on Low Intensity/Wellbeing Practitioner wellbeing. This questionnaire contains six multi-choice questions and a free text box for you to share your experiences. The answers to these questions will help the BABCP SIG plan how to meet CPD topics and other developments within the SIG.  The SIG hope to produce a write up of the answers to this questionnaire to be shared with SIG members and to be used in training.

View Survey

This FREE conference is for Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners working in Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression services and is brought to you by Bespoke Mental Health in collaboration with the NHS National PWP Leads Network.

bottom of page