Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder: An Essential Guide

by Katharine A. Phillips

Book Overview

In a world obsessed with appearance, it is not surprising that body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD -- an emotionally painful obsession with perceived flaws in one's appearance -- has manifested itself as a troubling and relatively common problem for many individuals. In The Broken Mirror, the first and most definitive book on BDD, Dr. Katharine A. Phillips provided a comprehensive manual for patients and their physicians by drawing on years of clinical practice, scientific research, and professional evaluations of over 1,000 patients. Now, in Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder: An Essential Guide, the world's leading authority on BDD reaches out to patients, their friends, and their families with this concise and updated handbook.

BDD causes sufferers to be obsessed by perceived flaws in their appearance and may afflict as much as two percent of the population, or nearly five million people. Many sufferers are able to function well in society, but remain secretly obsessed by their "hideous acne" or "horrible nose," sneaking constant peeks at a pocket mirror, or spending hours at a time redoing makeup. Others find their lives disintegrate because of their appearance obsessions. It is not an uncommon disorder, simply a hidden one, since sufferers are often embarrassed to tell even their closest friends about their concerns.

Using stories and interviews to show the many different behaviors and symptoms of BDD, and a quick self-assessment questionnaire, Dr. Phillips guides readers through the basics of the disorder and through the many treatment options that work and don't work. With Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder: An Essential Guide, sufferers will find both helpful advice and much needed reassurance in a compact, down-to-earth indispensable book.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195379403
• ISBN13: 9780195379402
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.9" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

Very Helpful with a Difficult Issue

I am a Psychologist and work with BDD clients, and this text is most helpful. I have found it useful to share some of the statistics and life stories that are included in the book. It is amazing how helpful it is for clients to discover they are not alone. Material is complete and presented in an organized and useful way. The understanding enabled for both client and therapist is one of the main traits of this book. And the author is obviously committed to the betterment/healing of her clients. One thing that I believe can be very useful is to understand that these clients are bothered by the PROCESS (obsessiveness of thoughts) as much as the CONTENT of the thoughts in this disorder. In addition, they are often more concerned with THEIR perceptions of themselves than they are with the perceptions of others (despite the presentation of the problem).