Regent’s University are researching the experience of video therapy for clients experiencing body image dissatisfaction.

Contact Ema via email S18007279@regents.ac.uk
More stories from the community















Navigating social media in an appearance focused world, having BDD.
Date: Wednesday 12th October
Time: 7-8pm GMT
Robyn is a licensed clinical social worker in the United States specializing in treating BDD. Robyn is a member of the BDD Special Interest Group for the IOCDF and conference planning committee for BDD for IOCDF. She was formally diagnosed with BDD when she was 22 years old after several years of not knowing what was wrong with her, misdiagnosed with depression and anxiety and struggling to maintain day to day tasks and functioning.
This webinar introduces the six core principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and the concept of Psychological Flexibility. It is an opportunity to engage in activities to bring these principles to life and potentially discover a different way to approach interacting with BDD. ACT is a beautifully adaptable approach and it is hoped that some or all of the ideas will resonate and offer additional resources for managing day-to-day life with BDD.
Date: Wednesday 26th October Unfortunately we are having to postpone this webinar until January due to unforeseen circumstances.
Time: 7-8pm GMT
Sarah is a Child, Community and Educational Psychologist and a Chartered member of the British Psychological Society. She has been developing her skills using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), both personally and professionally, for a number of years. In recent months she has welcomed the opportunity to connect with an online BDD group and an in-person retreat day to share ACT principles and think with others about how these ideas might support their lived experience of BDD.
Emotional developmental trauma is often neglected when treating clients with body dysmorphic disorder. Unlike tangible traumas, emotional developmental trauma is about what did not occur rather than what did occur. Most BDD sufferers have experienced at least some degree of emotional developmental trauma, and many are not even aware that something was missing in the first place. It is essential to work through this neglected trauma in order to achieve the best prognosis for long term recovery from body dysmorphic disorder.
Date: Wednesday 2nd November
Time: 7-8pm GMT
Arie is the founder and director of the Los Angeles BDD & Body Image Clinic. He has dedicated his entire career to the treatment of body dysmorphic disorder. In 1998 he initiated the first body dysmorphic disorder studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. These seminal studies were only the beginning of his many years of working extensively with individuals with BDD. As author of the book Face to Face with Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Psychotherapy and Clinical Insights, he regularly lectures nationally and internationally on the subject. His formal psychotherapy background includes graduate studies completed at Pepperdine University as well as six years of clinical experience at the UCLA Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Intensive Treatment Program.
Dr Nicole Schnackenberg is a Child, Community and Educational Psychologist, a psychotherapist, a 200-hour Hatha yoga teacher and a certified Kundalini yoga teacher with extensive training in yoga therapy. She currently divides her time between her role as a psychologist at Southend Educational Psychology Service, her position as a trustee of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation and of the Give Back Yoga Foundation UK, and her facilitation of the Eat Breathe Thrive yoga programme for food and body image issues. In addition to her contribution to projects at the Minded Institute, she also works with the Special Yoga Foundation in London and is a director of the Yoga in Healthcare Alliance.
This webinar will explore how BDD presents in autistic people and discuss ideas for how cognitive behaviour therapy can be adapted for this group to optimise treatment outcomes. There will be a Q&As slot and an opportunity for discussion.
Date: Wednesday 9nd November
Time: 7-8pm GMT
Amita is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and lead for the National Specialist BDD service for young people at South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. She has worked with young people with BDD, OCD and related disorders since 2006. She has authored several books on OCD and BDD and published peer-reviewed papers in this field. Amita is also a valued and actively engaged trustee of the BDD Foundation.
Elif is a clinical psychologist working at National Specialist BDD service for young people at South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. She has experience in teaching on Doctoral Clinical Psychology and CYP IAPT courses as well as training NHS professionals in identifying and working with mental health difficulties. She has a particular interest in autism research in clinical and subclinical groups and has approximately 10 years of research experience in this area. She is a trustee for Autism Forward which is a charity supporting funding for specialist employment mentoring for individuals with autism.
BDD and relationships, yes you can have them. Navigating relationships with BDD.
Date: Wednesday 16th November
Time: 7-8pm GMT
Scott has been practicing adolescent and adult psychotherapy for over 35 years since receiving his Masters degree at New York University. He is known for his commitment to increasing professional and public awareness of OCD and body dysmorphic disorder. Author of Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Mine and Yours: A Personal and Clinical Perspective. He has also written various articles, presented at numerous U.S. and international conferences, and has appeared on national and local television and radio shows. He is a clinical social worker in private practice and in June 2008 opened the OCD-BDD Clinic of Northern California in Redwood City.
Chris is on the board of directors at the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF). Chris is also the vice president of OCD Southern California and is a leader of the IOCDF’s BDD and LGBTQ+ Special Interest Groups. Chris’s passions include expanding BDD awareness and education and addressing LGBTQ+ issues in mental health treatment.
Robyn is a licensed clinical social worker in the United States specialising in treating BDD. Robyn is a member of the BDD Special Interest Group for the IOCDF and conference planning committee for BDD for IOCDF. She was formally diagnosed with BDD when she was 22 years old after several years of not knowing what was wrong with her, misdiagnosed with depression and anxiety and struggling to maintain day to day tasks and functioning.
Sadly, George Mycock who was scheduled to take this webinar had to pull out.
We now have leading expert, Dr Rob Willson who will present on Muscle Dysmorphia in conversation with Micky David who has lived experience.
Date: Wednesday 23rd November
Time: 7-8pm GMT
Dr Rob Willson PhD is a cognitive behaviour therapist based in North London, with a special interest in OCD, BDD and Health Anxiety. He co-authored with David Veale and Alex Clarke the self-help book Overcoming Body Image Problems including BDD. He first became involved in research on BDD 20 years ago. Currently, he divides his time between private practice and conducting research on improving the understanding and treatment of BDD. He is currently the chair Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) Foundation, the world’s first charity exclusively devoted to BDD. Prior to building his own practice, Rob spent twelve years working at the Priory Hospital North London where he was a therapist and therapy services manager.
Micky is an actor and writer. His current project Bulking Up is a short film that follows the character of Danny as he embarks on a rigorous twelve week bulking regime in the hope of finally making peace with his own reflection. The film aims to raise awareness of muscle dysmorphia in men and the catastrophic consequences the disorder can have on men’s lives. The film is partly based on Micky’s own experiences and is set to shoot in early 2023. Micky’s most recent project was playing one of the leads in Battle Over Britain, a feature film about a squadron of spitfire pilots during the Battle of Britain. The film is due to be released late 2023.
This webinar will give an overview of ORD, which consists of a preoccupation with a perceived foul or offensive body odour or breath (halitosis). The perceived body odour is either unnoticeable to others or appears very slight to an observer, so that the concerns are completely disproportionate to the smell, if any. An individual with olfactory reference disorder typically tries to check how he or she smells by repeatedly checking his or her body, changing clothes, seeking reassurance; attempts to camouflage the perceived odour by using perfume or deodorant, or prevent it by frequently bathing or brushing teeth, or by changing clothes, or by dieting or unusual food intake; or avoids situations or activities that are anxiety-provoking (e.g., being close to an another person). It is very distressing and can be very interfering in one’s life. ORD is uncommon but has a lot of overlap with the problems in Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Not a lot is known about the optimum treatment of ORD, but it is likely to be similar to BDD and OCD, namely Cognitive Behaviour Therapy that is specific for ORD and SSRI medication.
Date: Wednesday 30th November
Time: 7-8pm GMT
David is a Consultant Psychiatrist in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust and Nightingale Hospital London in Marylebone. He is a Visiting Professor at the Department of Psychology, King’s College London. He specialises in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), health anxiety and a specific phobia of vomiting (emetophobia). I am also interested in the rapid treatment of depression using Wake and Light Therapy and nutritional psychiatry. He is also a long standing trustee of the BDD Foundation.
Eva has been recovered from BDD for 20 years, so brings loads of wisdom and experience to this episode. (Which is number 27, not 26, as I say in the intro!)
It’s a little different from the others in that Eva tells us her story directly, in four parts.
You can download the transcript for this episode here:
Victoria Macdonald interviews a young woman with BDD and her mother about the experience of developing BDD through to diagnosis and then specialist treatment at the Maudsley Michael Rutter Centre.
The show also highlights the recent parliamentary inquiry and report into the impact of body image on physical and mental health.
Our wonderful trustee, Dr Amita Jassi, who is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Maudsley Michael Rutter treatment centre, was also featured. She explains what Body Dysmorphic Disorder is, some common symptoms and how treatment can help.
To find out more about how you can access treatment on the NHS follow this link.
For more advice and support you can contact our e-helpline: support@bddfoundation.org
Learn more about the report that was released by the Health and Social Care Committee this week.
Our Ambassador Charlie King, media volunteer Kim Booker and others associated with the BDD Foundation have been talking with the media this week about the importance of this report into body image, in particular highlighting the issues surrounding Body Dysmorphic Disorder and how the government can help.
Here are some highlights:
Kim Booker who gave evidence to the Parliamentary inquiry into the impact of Body Image has also been interviewed in recent days on her experience of BDD which fuelled her use of aesthetics. She calls for better regulation of the industry and support for those suffering from Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Her powerful testimony can be found on Sky News and Channel 4 news.
The BDD Foundation has been campaigning hard for changes in policy and legislation to protect vulnerable individuals such as those with BDD. This has included our campaign with Monki and Change.org petition calling for transparency on altered images online, signing up to Dr Luke Evans ‘Body Image Pledge‘ calling for the same legislation and more recently submitting evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee’s inquiry into the impact of body image.
Video evidence that was given can be found here.
The BDD Foundation also submitted written evidence with the help of Dr Georgina Krebs.
The final report was released on Tuesday 2nd August and we are very pleased to say that Body Dysmorphic Disorder has it’s own section as well as specific recommendations to the Government.
“We received much evidence detailing one of the conditions that can directly develop because of poor body image: Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). The Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation described this disorder as: a mental health condition characterised by excessive preoccupation with perceived flaws in physical appearance. These flaws appear as very minimal or completely unobservable to others, but are a source of great distress to the BDD sufferer. People with BDD can be preoccupied with any aspect of their appearance, but the most common focus is facial features, such as eyes, teeth, nose, skin and hair. BDD differs from body image issues seen in other conditions such as eating disorders, which focus primarily on weight and shape.
Dr Georgina Krebs, a specialist in BDD, highlighted that BDD was previously thought to be rare, but recent studies have shown that about 2% of the general population experience BDD at any one point in time. She said that it is not known if BDD is becoming increasingly common over time, but this is plausible in the context of rising sociocultural pressures relating to appearance. It is known, however, that the prevalence of BDD is much higher in certain groups. For example, the Mental Health in Young People 2017 survey, commissioned by NHS Digital and conducted by the Office for National Statistics, found that more than one in 20 (5.6%) 17- to 19-year-old girls experience BDD.
We heard that the impact of BDD can be profound and that the disorder often leads to other mental health conditions, such as depression and substance misuse. Concerningly, rates of suicidality are also very high. Approximately one in four people with BDD attempt suicide, making it one of the highest risk of all mental health disorders.
We were told of the significant impact that BDD can have on how people function. Evidence shows that, among young people attending mental health services for BDD, one in three are out of school because of their appearance concerns. It is also common for young people with BDD to completely withdraw from social activities because of their appearance concerns, and even become housebound.
This echoes the experience of Kim Booker, one of our lived experience witnesses. She described how it felt to live with BDD:
“Rather than see myself as a whole, I see myself as fractured pieces. I home
in and zoom in on certain parts of myself and heavily criticise parts that
I see as flaws. When I have really bad flare-ups, it can take up about 80%
of my mind capacity. It is all I can think about. For instance, when I want
to change certain features of my face, I am constantly thinking about how
I am going to change it. I feel ugly. I do not like people looking at certain
sides of my face. Sometimes I do not want to leave the house. It is in the
category of OCD; it is a compulsive disorder. We ruminate and cannot stop
seeing the flaws, even though other people probably cannot see them.”
As with Kim, we were told that BDD typically emerges during adolescence and that it is essential that the disorder is recognised and treated early to avert the potentially devastating impact that it can have at this crucial developmental period.
Most worryingly, the BDD Foundation estimated that 85% of individuals with BDD do not receive an accurate diagnosis, due both to sufferers being reluctant to seek help and to healthcare professionals lacking adequate knowledge about the condition. We are concerned at the lack of resource being directed toward the treatment of those suffering, many unknowingly, with BDD.“
“We urge the Department to ensure more is done to make the diagnosis and treatment of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) a priority. From a diagnostic perspective, we recommend that Health Education England update the IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) and EMHP (Educational Mental Health Practitioner) curricula to make training in BDD compulsory for all mental health practitioners. The Government should ensure BDD is included in the PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) education curricula within the section on body image, to promote early detection and early intervention within schools. As well as improved diagnosis rates, suitable care for those living with BDD must be available. We recommend that BDD specialist practitioners are eventually embedded into the multidisciplinary teams in every new community model for adults severely affected by mental illness.
We call on the Government to better equip future generations and their families with the skills and resources required to tackle body image issues. These skills and resources include critical thinking, particularly when it comes to appraising images, and self-worth. We recommend that the Government explores the use of family hubs as a route to educate parents and young people about body image, self-worth, and body positivity.
We commend the Government’s work to date to introduce Education Mental Health Practitioners within school-based Mental Health Support Teams across the country, as well as the commitment to have a Mental Health Lead teacher in schools. We recommend that the Government review the training of these practitioners to ensure it includes spotting early signs of conditions related to body image issues. We ask the Government to provide us with a further update on their progress in introducing these roles and to set out the timeframe for establishing them in every school in England.”
“Another condition that has serious physical health implications is muscle dysmorphia, a subtype of BDD characterised by the preoccupation with the idea that one’s body is not sufficiently lean and muscular. Chris Bell and Dr Charlotte Kerner from Brunel University told us that what can appear to be simply a high drive for muscularity in men and women can result in several potentially deleterious health consequences such as dietary restraint and binge eating practices, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, perfectionism and steroid/supplement use.
We recommend that the Department commissions a national review of the growing use of anabolic steroids in England as it relates to body image. We further recommend that the Department introduces a national awareness campaign around safe anabolic steroid use. This ought to be coordinated through existing steroid user support groups and targeted at areas of highest risk, such as gyms with a high proportion of body builders.”
“We call on the Government to work with advertisers to feature a wider variety of body aesthetics, and work with industry and the ASA to encourage advertisers and influencers not to doctor their images. We believe the Government should introduce legislation that ensures commercial images are labelled with a logo where any part of the body, including its proportions and skin tone, are digitally altered.”
“We urge the Department to ensure more is done to make the diagnosis and treatment of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) a priority. From a diagnostic perspective, we recommend that Health Education England update the IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) and EMHP (Educational Mental Health Practitioner) curricula to make training in BDD compulsory for all mental health practitioners. The Government should ensure BDD is included in the PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) education curricula within the section on body image, to promote early detection and early intervention within schools. As well as improved diagnosis rates, suitable care for those living with BDD must be available. We recommend that BDD specialist practitioners are eventually embedded into the multidisciplinary teams in every new community model for adults severely affected by mental illness.”
They are looking for participants who are over the age of 16 and who have experience of body image dissatisfaction.
It will involve answering an online questionnaire that includes a range of questions on these topics, and should take around 5-10 minutes to complete.
Dr Rob Willson from the Body Dysmorphic Foundation said: “There’s lots of pressure from social media to try to conform to certain stereotypes of an idealised beauty and particularly in men.
George Mycock discusses the impact that social media had on his muscle dysmorphia: “I think it does play a huge part – it’s very easy to get engrossed in an echo chamber, you follow the people who agree with your extreme thoughts and they show you more extreme thoughts and it starts spiralling out of control,” he said.
George suffered for a long time with a form of BDD known as muscle dysmorphia, muscle dysmorphic disorder or “bigorexia”. The condition, which he calls “muscularity-oriented issues”, brings its own challenges in terms of social stigma as well as diagnosis and treatment. George shares his lived experience, dips into the huge amount of knowledge he’s gained and explains why he’s made it his life’s work to raise awareness and improve treatment of these issues.
You can download the transcript for this episode here: