We are delighted to announce that for the fourth time, the Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for Body Dysmorphic Disorder (CBT-BDD) Group Programme is recruiting participants to take part in the BDD Foundation’s flagship guided-self help project.
After three years of piloting the CBT-BDD Group Programme, we now have a good sense of what aspects of the programme work well for people and enable them to start their journey of recovery from BDD.
The unique feature of this group is that it combines the evidence-based therapeutic approaches – the same that you would find in NHS service – with the lived-expertise of the group facilitators, which participants have said makes a “huge difference”. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends that people with BDD receive CBT (which includes graded exposure) in either an individual or group context. However, we know from our beneficiaries that accessing this treatment is often difficult – especially given the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the BDD Foundation, we are committed to improving access to evidence-based and NICE recommended treatment, which is why we offer this programme online, for a longer period of time, and on either a Tuesday or Thursday evening. This year, the groups will both be starting from the middle of May and will run for 20 weeks.
One participant who took part in the programme told us how much the group has helped them to overcome fear and anxiety related to their appearance, which has in the past held them back: “The group was amazing to help me see that I am not alone, to gain perspective on how BDD affects my day-to-day life and to find compassion for myself and the group for how it impacts us, daily. This I found to be the most powerful element of the group”.
Hannah Lewis, who is the Project Lead for the pilot, has said the following: “I’m really pleased with how successful the pilot phase of the structured support group has been. It has been such a privilege to work with facilitators who have shared their own experiences of BDD and inspired others on the road to recovery. It has been really wonderful to see the participants engage with the therapy and overcome their anxieties – I’m now looking forward to helping even more people to overcome their BDD.”
If you are interested in applying to be a participant in the next cycle of the online programme – or if you are a clinician who would like to know how the group could help your service-users – then please contact hannah@bddfoundation.org by the 12th April.