Applications in Progress
Adaptation of IPT is flourishing, with researchers adapting it to address a variety of disorders. We do not know them all, nor can we vouch for their quality or appropriateness. These applications will eventually stand or fall on efficacy research. This chapter presents some of the promising new developments.
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) consists of a preoccupation with an imagined or minor defect in one's appearance ( American Psychiatric Association, 1994). 1 A patient may obsess, for example, about devious-looking eyebrows, an excessively large nose or head, small genitals, or a stretched mouth. Their feelings of unbearable ugliness and pervasive preoccupation with appearance may lead to social withdrawal as well as repeated visits to dermatologists and plastic surgeons in an attempt to correct the imagined defect ( Phillips, 1991). Common beliefs include: "If I am ugly or defective, then I am unlovable" and "My appearance has to be perfect" ( Veale et al., 1996a, b).
The prevalence of BDD is unknown. Onset is usually in adolescence. Phillips ( 1991), in a clinical review, noted that symptoms tend to be unremitting, sometimes worsening over time. The body part of concern may
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Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com
Publication information:
Book title: Comprehensive Guide to Interpersonal Psychotherapy.
Contributors: Myrna M. Weissman - Author, John C. Markowitz - Author, Gerald L. Klerman - Author.
Publisher: Basic Books.
Place of publication: New York.
Publication year: 2000.
Page number: 341.
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