Has Hollywood's Diet Obsession Forced the US Government to Take Action?
New York, NY (PRWEB) August 2, 2008 -- In an ongoing study conducted by the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) new treatments for Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) are being carefully examined. BDD is a mental disorder in which and individual has an excessive fixation or preoccupation with a slight or imagined physical flaw that results in emotional and social distress. Often there is a fixation on weight loss, dieting, and a belief that one is fat when in fact one may be anorexic. The media buzz surrounding BDD has grown exponentially in recent years as Hollywood has reinforced the belief that "thin is in." The disease has high instances of comorbidity and is very often found in association with eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia.
In its study, the NIMH is focusing on the benefits of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for patients suffering from BDD. Cognitive Therapy is a state-of-the-art, highly effective approach to psychological treatment. It is essentially a method that identifies and helps a person to correct specific errors in what he or she is thinking that produces negative or painful feelings. These erroneous or distorted thoughts also influence the person on a behavioral level, and result in maladaptive choices or reactions. CBT helps to correct those thoughts through an intervention of an individual's thinking.
According to the NIMH website, the premise of the experiment is as follows: "Participants will be randomly assigned (like the flip of a coin) to either start CBT treatment immediately or to a waitlist group, which would require a 3-month wait without treatment before beginning treatment for this study. Participants have a 50-50 chance of being in either group. Participants will receive a total of 22 sessions of individual, manual-based CBT. The CBT sessions will occur weekly during the course of the study. During the sessions, participants will receive education about BDD and CBT, engage in activities that help them confront their BDD, learn new ways of thinking about body image, and learn relapse prevention techniques. Self-report scales will be used to assess participants."
New York Psychologist (http://www.cognitive-therapy-associates.com/contact/) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy expert, Dr. Allison Conner has commented on the upcoming study, saying, "CBT is particularly well suited and proven for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and given the similarities between BDD and OCD, behavioral therapy is highly likely to have a positive impact when properly applied and the patient is motivated."
The NIMH clinical trial website is at the following address:
NIMH (http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00106223?cond=%22Somatoform+Disorders%22&rank=3n)
If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Dr. Allison Conner of Cognitive Therapy Associates (http://www.cognitive-therapy-associates.com/) email Elizabeth Dillon at elizabeth.dillon @ cognitive-therapy-associates.com
# # #
Related Articles:
Advertising Your Vacation Villa Rental - How To Choose
There are literally millions of holiday home owners now advertising on the internet Some people set up their own website and just sit back and hope that they will be found by prospective holidaymakers looking for their vacation property
Villas of the World - luxury rental vacation
A spacious Villa near the pacific, golf courses, sheltered beach, boutiques, restaurants, galleries, private beach path?and more?you can be apart of all these luxuries at one time! Enjoy your vacations with your family in one of the finest luxury rental vacations on earth!
Villa Company Wimco Suggests Private Villa Holidays Beyond Tuscany/Umbria in Italy This Summer
Umbria and Tuscany are "hot" spots for summer travel to Italy. But Wimco, the international villa company, offers a potpourri of villas in other parts of Italy in addition to its extensive Umbria/Tuscany collection.
Wailea Beach Villas Offers Hawaii Adventure Tours with the Maui Adventure Guide Vacation Package
Wailea Beach Villas offers travelers the ability to take a private adventure tour in Wailea with the Maui Adventure Guide Vacation Package. Explore Maui's great outdoors, go hiking, canoeing and more.
A Luxury Vacation Rental Villa in St Lucia
Why not check out a fully staffed luxury vacation rental villa called Brigand Hill in St Lucia
A Luxury Vacation Rental for a family, or a romantic wedding destination
Villa Holiday or Package Holiday
Everybody knows someone who has been on one and an awful lot of people have been on one themselves. Yes we are talking about the age old Package holiday.
Take a Hawaii Girlfriend Getaway with Wailea Beach Villas' Wahine Getaway Vacation Package
Wailea Beach Villas offers the ideal Hawaiian girlfriend getaway to Maui with their Wailea Wahine Getaway vacation package. Find upscale penthouse accommodations, in-room spa treatments and more.