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juushikaTitle: The Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Author: Katherine A. Phillips, M.D.
Published: New York: Oxford University Press, 1996
Page Count: 344
Total Page Count: 25, 520
Text Number: 74
Read For: research project for psychology course at Portland State University
Short review: A through, informative, accessible introduction to Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), grounded in Phillips's clinical practice and interviews with patients. Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a psychological disease characterized with an obsession with perceived flaws in the sufferer's appearance. In reality these flaws are minimal or nonexistent, yet to the sufferer they are very real and can create extreme anxiety, obsessive thoughts, and compulsive behaviors. Phillips's book was the only one of its kind when originally published and is still one of the few books about BDD. She provides a well-written and researched introduction to all aspects of BDD, including diagnostic criteria, signs of the disease, and the impact of the disease on suffers as well as friends and family. At the end of the book she discusses treatment of BDD, but this section is limited by the lack of research done on treatment and remission. Despite this hole, the book is a well-rounded and educational introduction to the disorder, conveying both statistics and emotional impact and proving a lot of information about the how, why, and what of BDD. I highly recommend it to those interested in the subject.
My interest in BDD is primarily academic and casual, therefore I cannot give feedback on this book based on either personal experience of psychological knowledge. The Broken Mirror, however, is an approachable introduction to those with no knowledge about the subject. Phillips starts from square one, giving a number of descriptions of what BDD looks like, how it effects patients, and how crippling it can be. These patient histories are so prevalent they can get tedious, bu they do a fair job of introducing the subject and impressing its severity and reality on to even the causal reader. The body of the book is a through description of BDD: what it is, how it is diagnosed, the thoughts and behaviors it contains, the impact of those thoughts and behaviors, who suffers from BDD, where the disorder originates, and finally how it can be treated. The writing style is clear and simple, important points are highlighted and chapters and subheading are logically divided, sections end with a complete summary, and the appendixes and index are useful and complete.
For all of the strengths of the book, the section on treating BDD is unfortunately its weakness. The book was written ten years ago, before much study had been done on treating BDD, and so most of the information and recommendations comes from Phillips's own practice and observations. Even now then years later, research on the treatment of BDD and long-term nature of the disorder is severely lacking. All in all, Phillips's advice is good: she encourages sufferers to seek help, a good idea no matter what form of treatment they seek, and provides information and suggestions for the friends and family of BDD sufferers about how to provide support, encourage the sufferer to seek help, and maintain a healthy relationship with the sufferer. Hopefully as more research is done we will know more about BDD treatment options and effectiveness, but for now Phillips's book provides a number of suggestions to point patients in the right direction, and it is far better than nothing.
I highly recommend this book to those interested in BDD and also (although I speak without any personal experience) to sufferers and especially to their friends and family. Not only is Broken Mirror a wealth of information about the disorder, it also provides comfort to suffers and information to friends and family, validating the disease, describing others's experiences with BDD and what we know about the causes of it, and creating compassion for the disorder. Because the perceived physical defect in BDD isn't apparent to others, BDD can be a difficult disease to understand, accept, or help with; Phillips does a lot to right that wrong by providing information and compassionate insight. Although the book is a bit repetitive and the therapy section limited, this is a well-rounded and useful introduction to the subject and should be useful to curious, sufferers, and those who are impacted by it alike.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
Author: Katherine A. Phillips, M.D.
Published: New York: Oxford University Press, 1996
Page Count: 344
Total Page Count: 25, 520
Text Number: 74
Read For: research project for psychology course at Portland State University
Short review: A through, informative, accessible introduction to Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), grounded in Phillips's clinical practice and interviews with patients. Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a psychological disease characterized with an obsession with perceived flaws in the sufferer's appearance. In reality these flaws are minimal or nonexistent, yet to the sufferer they are very real and can create extreme anxiety, obsessive thoughts, and compulsive behaviors. Phillips's book was the only one of its kind when originally published and is still one of the few books about BDD. She provides a well-written and researched introduction to all aspects of BDD, including diagnostic criteria, signs of the disease, and the impact of the disease on suffers as well as friends and family. At the end of the book she discusses treatment of BDD, but this section is limited by the lack of research done on treatment and remission. Despite this hole, the book is a well-rounded and educational introduction to the disorder, conveying both statistics and emotional impact and proving a lot of information about the how, why, and what of BDD. I highly recommend it to those interested in the subject.
My interest in BDD is primarily academic and casual, therefore I cannot give feedback on this book based on either personal experience of psychological knowledge. The Broken Mirror, however, is an approachable introduction to those with no knowledge about the subject. Phillips starts from square one, giving a number of descriptions of what BDD looks like, how it effects patients, and how crippling it can be. These patient histories are so prevalent they can get tedious, bu they do a fair job of introducing the subject and impressing its severity and reality on to even the causal reader. The body of the book is a through description of BDD: what it is, how it is diagnosed, the thoughts and behaviors it contains, the impact of those thoughts and behaviors, who suffers from BDD, where the disorder originates, and finally how it can be treated. The writing style is clear and simple, important points are highlighted and chapters and subheading are logically divided, sections end with a complete summary, and the appendixes and index are useful and complete.
For all of the strengths of the book, the section on treating BDD is unfortunately its weakness. The book was written ten years ago, before much study had been done on treating BDD, and so most of the information and recommendations comes from Phillips's own practice and observations. Even now then years later, research on the treatment of BDD and long-term nature of the disorder is severely lacking. All in all, Phillips's advice is good: she encourages sufferers to seek help, a good idea no matter what form of treatment they seek, and provides information and suggestions for the friends and family of BDD sufferers about how to provide support, encourage the sufferer to seek help, and maintain a healthy relationship with the sufferer. Hopefully as more research is done we will know more about BDD treatment options and effectiveness, but for now Phillips's book provides a number of suggestions to point patients in the right direction, and it is far better than nothing.
I highly recommend this book to those interested in BDD and also (although I speak without any personal experience) to sufferers and especially to their friends and family. Not only is Broken Mirror a wealth of information about the disorder, it also provides comfort to suffers and information to friends and family, validating the disease, describing others's experiences with BDD and what we know about the causes of it, and creating compassion for the disorder. Because the perceived physical defect in BDD isn't apparent to others, BDD can be a difficult disease to understand, accept, or help with; Phillips does a lot to right that wrong by providing information and compassionate insight. Although the book is a bit repetitive and the therapy section limited, this is a well-rounded and useful introduction to the subject and should be useful to curious, sufferers, and those who are impacted by it alike.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
