Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-74d7c59bfc-qmf49 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-01-24T04:21:21.957Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 17 - Body Dysmorphic Disorder

from Part III - Application and Adaptations for Mental Health Presentations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2025

Jessica Davies
Affiliation:
University of Exeter
Paul Salkovskis
Affiliation:
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust & University of Oxford
Kenneth Laidlaw
Affiliation:
University of Exeter
Judith S. Beck
Affiliation:
Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy & University of Pennsylvania
Get access

Summary

The chapter will help you to be able to explain what BDD is and how it typically presents, including a preoccupation with either imagined or minor physical flaws, and the resultant safety behaviours to manage the feared impact of others perceiving this flaw, describe and use Veale & Neziroglu’s CBT protocol for BDD, explain the importance of using mirror retraining in treatment, develop a treatment plan for CBT for BDD, using appropriate measures, and take account of comorbidity in managing CBT for BDD, including that of depression, social anxiety and OCD.

Information

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Further Reading

Veale, D, Neziroglu, FA. Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Treatment Manual. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell; 2010.10.1002/9780470684610CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, KA, Menard, W, Fay, C, Weisberg, R. Demographic characteristics, phenomenology, comorbidity, and family history in 200 individuals with body dysmorphic disorder. Psychosomatics. 2005;46(4):317325.10.1176/appi.psy.46.4.317CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

References

Morselli, E. La dismorfofobia e la tafefobia nei loro rapporti con le forme consimili di pazzia del dubbio (paranoia rudimentaria). Naples: Tipografia della riforma medica; 1891.Google Scholar
Janet, P. Les Obsessions Et la Psychasthenie. 1903.10.2307/1412632CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed. rev.) Washington, DC: 1987.Google Scholar
Phillipou, A, Rossell, SL, Wilding, HE, Castle, DJ. Randomised controlled trials of psychological & pharmacological treatments for body dysmorphic disorder: A systematic review. Psychiatry Res. 2016;245:179185.10.1016/j.psychres.2016.05.062CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grant, JE, Kim, SW, Eckert, ED. Body dysmorphic disorder in patients with anorexia nervosa: Prevalence, clinical features, and delusionality of body image. Int J Eat Disord. 2002;32(3):291300.10.1002/eat.10091CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Singh, AR, Veale, D. Understanding and treating body dysmorphic disorder. Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S131–5.Google ScholarPubMed
American Psychiatric Association, editor. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5-TR. 5th ed., text revision. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association Publishing; 2022.Google Scholar
Veale, D, Gledhill, LJ, Christodoulou, P, Hodsoll, J. Body dysmorphic disorder in different settings: A systematic review and estimated weighted prevalence. Body Image. 2016;18:168186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Phillips, KA, Menard, W, Fay, C, Weisberg, R. Demographic characteristics, phenomenology, comorbidity, and family history in 200 individuals with body dysmorphic disorder. Psychosomatics. 2005;46(4):317325.10.1176/appi.psy.46.4.317CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koran, LM, Abujaoude, E, Large, MD, Serpe, RT. The prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder in the United States adult population. CNS Spectr. 2008;13(4):316322.10.1017/S1092852900016436CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rief, W, Buhlmann, U, Wilhelm, S, Borkenhagen, A, Brähler, E. The prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder: A population-based survey. Psychol Med. 2006;36(6):877885.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Didie, ER, Menard, W, Stern, AP, Phillips, KA. Occupational functioning and impairment in adults with body dysmorphic disorder. Compr Psychiatry. 2008;49(6):561569.10.1016/j.comppsych.2008.04.003CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conroy, M, Menard, W, Fleming-Ives, K, Modha, P, Cerullo, H, Phillips, KA. Prevalence and clinical characteristics of body dysmorphic disorder in an adult inpatient setting. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2008;30(1):6772.10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2007.09.004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, K. Diagnostic instruments for body dysmorphic disorder. New research programs and abstracts. American Psychiatric Association 148th Annual Meeting, Miami. American Psychiatric Press; Washington, DC: 1995.Google Scholar
Veale, D, Neziroglu, FA. Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Treatment Manual. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell; 2010.10.1002/9780470684610CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jansen, A, Smeets, T, Martijn, C, Nederkoorn, C. I see what you see: The lack of a self-serving body-image bias in eating disorders. Br J Clin Psychol. 2006;45(1):123135.10.1348/014466505X50167CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gunstad, J, Phillips, KA. Axis I comorbidity in body dysmorphic disorder. Compr Psychiatry. 2003;44(4):270276.10.1016/S0010-440X(03)00088-9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder: Treatment. Clinical Guidance [Internet]. NICE; 2005 Nov. Report No.: CG31. www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg31.Google Scholar
Cooper, M, Osman, S. Metacognition in body dysmorphic disorder: A preliminary exploration. J Cogn Psychother. 2007;21(2):148155.10.1891/088983907780851568CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, DM. Cognitive perspective on social phobia. In: Crozier, WR, Alden, LE (Eds.), International Handbook of Social Anxiety: Concepts, Research, and Interventions Relating to the Self and Shyness (pp. 405–430). New York: Wiley; 2001.Google Scholar
Dugas, MR, Koerner, N, Michel, J. Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: From Science to Practice. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge; 2019.Google Scholar
Padesky, CA. A more effective treatment focus for social phobia? Int Cogn Ther Newsl. 1997;11(1):13.Google Scholar
Leigh, E, Clark, DM. Cognitive Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder in Adolescents [Internet]. 2018. Available from: https://oxcadatresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CT-SAD-A-MANUAL.pdfGoogle Scholar

Accessibility standard: Inaccessible, or known limited accessibility

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

The PDF of this book is known to have missing or limited accessibility features. We may be reviewing its accessibility for future improvement, but final compliance is not yet assured and may be subject to legal exceptions. If you have any questions, please contact accessibility@cambridge.org.

Content Navigation

Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Index navigation
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.

Reading Order & Textual Equivalents

Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
Short alternative textual descriptions
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.

Visual Accessibility

Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.

Structural and Technical Features

ARIA roles provided
You gain clarity from ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles and attributes, as they help assistive technologies interpret how each part of the content functions.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Body Dysmorphic Disorder
  • Jessica Davies, University of Exeter, Paul Salkovskis, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust & University of Oxford, Kenneth Laidlaw, University of Exeter
  • Foreword by Judith S. Beck, Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy & University of Pennsylvania
  • Book: Cambridge Guide to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
  • Online publication: 18 November 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009090940.018
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Body Dysmorphic Disorder
  • Jessica Davies, University of Exeter, Paul Salkovskis, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust & University of Oxford, Kenneth Laidlaw, University of Exeter
  • Foreword by Judith S. Beck, Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy & University of Pennsylvania
  • Book: Cambridge Guide to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
  • Online publication: 18 November 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009090940.018
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Body Dysmorphic Disorder
  • Jessica Davies, University of Exeter, Paul Salkovskis, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust & University of Oxford, Kenneth Laidlaw, University of Exeter
  • Foreword by Judith S. Beck, Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy & University of Pennsylvania
  • Book: Cambridge Guide to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
  • Online publication: 18 November 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009090940.018
Available formats
×