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Fempower Health Podcast on BDD

Host Georgie Kovacs sensitively interviews our trustee Dr Amita Jassi and Rachel Koutnik on the subject

Fempower Health is a podcast offering frank conversations with women’s health experts investigating important, often misunderstood women’s health topics empowering women to become the CEO of their health.

In this episode, the following elements are covered:

  • Body Dysmorphia Definition, including how similar or dissimilar it is to anorexia and bulimia
  • Body Dysmorphia Test
  • Body Dysmorphia Symptoms
  • Body Dysmorphia and Social Media
  • How to help someone with Body Dysmorphia

The relationship to the routines that I had was an issue and nobody caught it. The meaning I made was an issue and nobody caught it. I believed what I believed internally. – Rachel Koutnik

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About Dr. Amita Jassi

Dr Amita Jassi is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the National and Specialist OCD, BDD and Related Disorder Service for Children and Young People (South London and Maudsley NHS Trust). She has worked with this client group since 2006. Amita is the lead for the BDD branch of the service as well as the research lead for the clinic. This is the only specialist service for young people with BDD in the UK.

In her clinical role, she develops and delivers individually-tailored treatment packages, including intensive, home-based and inpatient treatment, as well as offering consultation and joint work with clinicians around the country.

Amita has taught and trained nationally and internationally on child and adolescent OCD and BDD. She is the author of several books including ‘Appearance Anxiety: a Guide to Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder for Young People, Families and Professionals’ and ‘The Parents’ Guide to Body Dysmorphic Disorder’. She has She has over 35 publications in peer reviewed journals on OCD and BDD and engages in media work to increase awareness and understanding of these conditions. Amita is also a trustee for the BDD Foundation charity.

About Rachel Koutnik

Rachel Koutnik, LCSW is a therapist in private practice in Los Angeles, California. Rachel has been a practicing therapist for 12 years with a background in community counseling with children, adults and families, and emergency room crisis work. She currently works with teens, adults and couples providing outpatient therapy, as well as part time work with adults in an intensive outpatient substance abuse recovery center. Rachel identifies as a wounded healer and has also been in recovery from Body Dysmorphic Disorder and other mental health struggles for the past 20 years. Her own healing journey has led to her integrative approach of evidence based and holistic healing methods.

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Living the Exposure Life

with Elias Marchetti

My name is Elias Marchetti, I’m 21 years old and now at university studying oceanography: I love the ocean, having been an avid sailor for over ten years now. My favourite hobbies are watching movies, photography, hanging out with friends — and playing fetch with my dogs! CBT — Cognitive Behavioural Therapy — is an essential tool for overcoming OCD and BDD. While it may seem daunting at first, it really is an incredible help to being able to return to living life to the fullest. CBT changed my life for the better and really allowed me to be the person I was before having BDD and OCD. Living the exposure life by pushing yourself and doing exposures whenever you can is an amazing way to keeping healthy and free of BDD and OCD.

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‘The devil is in the detail’

with Elias Marchetti

Georgina is an Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor of Young People’s Mental Health and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, at University College London. Her research interests include developing novel, evidence-based methods for delivering cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) in young people, and understanding factors that interfere with recovery in order to inform the development of new treatment approaches.

Body dysmorphic disorder shares many features with eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa. Previous research has found that people with anorexia nervosa show a tendency to focus on detailed features within visual images, and this means that they sometimes struggle to see ‘the bigger picture’. This is an important issue because a detailed-focussed processing style could fuel appearance concerns and poor body image. In this talk I will summarise our recent research looking at whether body dysmorphic disorder, like anorexia nervosa, is linked with this detailed-processing style. I will also discuss potential implications for treatment and recovery.

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Medication for BDD

with Elias Marchetti

Dr. Phillips is Professor of Psychiatry, Dewitt Wallace Senior Scholar, and Residency Research Director at Weill Cornell Medical College, and Attending Psychiatrist at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Her pioneering research on BDD has identified and elucidated many important aspects of this common and severe disorder, and she has developed and tested treatments, both medication and therapy, for BDD.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) can often be effectively treated with certain types of medication. Medication and cognitive-behavioural therapy that is tailored to BDD are the only two evidence-based treatments for BDD. For medication to be effective, the correct medication, dosing, and trial duration are needed. This presentation, by Dr. Katharine Phillips, who has conducted most of the published medication studies of BDD, will review first-line medication approaches for BDD, including dosing and trial duration. She will also discuss next-step options if a first-line medication is not adequately helpful. In addition, Dr. Phillips will review myths about medication, some possible side effects and approaches that may alleviate them if they occur, and other topics such as for how long a helpful medication should be continued.

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Application of the CBT Model to BDD treatment

with Elias Marchetti

Dr. Neziroglu is a Board Certified Psychologist who has been involved in the research and treatment of Obsessive Compulsive related disorders and anxiety disorders for over 25 years. She has presented and published over 100 papers in scientific journals and co-authored numerous books. She is clinical director and co-founder of the Bio Behavioral Institute in Greak Neck, New York. Dr. Neziroglu received her PhD in Clinical, School-Community Psychology from Hofstra University. She is Board Certified in both Behavioral (ABBP) and Professional Psychology (ABBP). She is also a Board Member and a Fellow of ABBP’s Academy. She is Full Professor at Hofstra University, Department of Psychology and Clinical Professor of Psychology at New York University.

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Taking the pressure out of recovery

with Elias Marchetti

A participant of BBC Three’s ‘Extreme OCD Camp’ in 2013, Jack has extensively written and spoken about OCD in the national press and TV, including Time to Change, BBC Breakfast and The Victoria Derbyshire Show. Now the CEO of UK-wide disability charity, The Accessful Foundation, Jack is the author of ‘Life On The Other Side’, a two-in-one book about recovery (with proceeds to OCD Action) and a public speaker and business consultant.

A talk on some of the things I wish I’d done differently as a young person, how your version of recovery can be caught (even if you think it can’t), how to avoid the added pressures of ‘enjoying the best years of your life’ and how building a team around you can be one of the greatest things you ever do.

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Parenting a child with BDD – a parent’s story

with Elias Marchetti

Scarlett is a trustee of The BDD Foundation. Since having children, Scarlett has been a stay-at-home mother of four, one of whom has suffered with BDD since 2010. She has had to fight the NHS system to obtain the treatment her daughter so desperately required. Scarlett has gained an extremely close insight into BDD and the struggles of living with and supporting a BDD sufferer.

When a young person experiences BDD, it not only affects them but their parents, carers, family and friends. In this talk, Scarlett will share her insights from parenting a child with BDD. She will discuss the impact this had on familial relationships before, during, and after her daughter Alanah accessed treatment. She will then host a discussion for other parents and answer questions based on her own insights and lived-experience.

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Understanding and treating BDD in young people

with Elias Marchetti

Elif is a Clinical Psychologist at the National and Specialist OCD, BDD and Related Disorder Clinic at the Maudsley Hospital. She provides specialist assessment and evidence-based treatment for children and adolescents with OCD and BDD. Elif is a peer-reviewed author and has a strong interest in developing and delivering effective psychological interventions for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Elif will focus on understanding BDD in young people and the treatment approach taken. The first part of the talk will provide an overview of BDD symptoms, share key facts on the condition, and discuss why BDD remains underdiagnosed. The second part will provide information on how to access help and what to expect from assessment and evidence-based treatment for BDD in children and young people.

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Transition to Adult Mental Health Services

with Elias Marchetti

Gazal is a Senior Clinical Psychologist at the service, providing specialist treatment to children and young people with OCD. She is the diversity representative and leading on initiatives to improve the experience of families from ethnic minorities and considering aspects of diversity in OCD assessment and treatment. She has also appeared on BBC Radio 4 and Talk Radio to myth bust misconceptions around OCD.

Transition from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to Adult Mental Health services can be a challenging time for young people and their families. This talk will describe specialist adult services for OCD and BDD as well as non-specialist community adult services, and explain the process of referral and funding. There will also be discussion on the similarities and differences between CAMHS and Adult Mental Health services and top tips for parents. The purpose of this talk is to give parents information about specialist and non-specialist adult services so that they can best navigate the transition from CAMHS to adult services for their child.

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Managing challenging behaviour in children & young people with OCD/BDD

with Elias Marchetti

Chloë is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Team Lead for the service, overseeing treatment for the most severe, treatment-resistant cases of young people with OCD. She is pioneering Multi-Family Group work with families of young people with OCD. With 2 colleagues, she published the clinic’s treatment manual and workbook OCD – Tools to help young people fight back! Turner, Krebs and Volz. OCD and related disorders cause high levels of distress and anxiety and it is not uncommon for children and young people suffering from OCD to become aggressive and challenging at times. Parents may report that this is “out of character” and it can be highly distressing for family members to have to witness and manage these episodes of challenging behaviour. This talk aims to help parents to understand what might be going on for their children and to help them think through how best to approach these situations.

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The Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation. Charity no. 1153753.