The Broken Mirror Summary
The Broken Mirror
The Broken Mirror was written by Katherine Phillips, M D, who is Chief of outpatient services and Director of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Body Image Program at Butler Hospital in Providence, Rode Island. In this text, Dr. Philips explains and answers various questions about an unknown psychological disorder known as Body Dysmorphic Disorder or BDD. The text answers various questions about the disorder including: What is Body Dysmorphic Disorder? How does one know if they have BDD? How does BDD affect one’s life? And what is the treatment plan for BDD sufferers (Philips 1996)?
What is Body Dysmorphic Disorder?
Dr. Philips began this chapter by describing her first encounter with a patient who had a mild case of BDD. The patients name was Sarah, and she was a twenty four year old medical student. Sarah had recently seen a special on NBC Dateline regarding BDD. When she scheduled her appointment with Dr. Philips, she emphasized that she did not have a severe case of BDD but only mild. Dr. Philips was interested in …show more content…
Philips describes BDD as not a rare disorder, but often secretive disorder. According to statistics on a study from Brown University, out of three hundred sixteen people in an outpatient setting for psychiatric treatment, 4% have BDD. Also, out of 500 people seeking psychiatric treatment in an outpatient setting, 12% have BDD. Although these numbers are high, BDD is often not diagnosed due to its close ties with other common psychiatric disorders. If a patient does not reveal the cause of their psychiatric symptoms then they may be misdiagnosed as having another related disorder. Some disorders that may result from BDD include depression, social anxiety, panic attacks, social phobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Though 80% of BDD patients will have any one of these disorders, it is not often diagnosed due to the patient’s fear of revealing the cause behind such actions (Philips
The Broken Mirror was written by Katherine Phillips, M D, who is Chief of outpatient services and Director of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Body Image Program at Butler Hospital in Providence, Rode Island. In this text, Dr. Philips explains and answers various questions about an unknown psychological disorder known as Body Dysmorphic Disorder or BDD. The text answers various questions about the disorder including: What is Body Dysmorphic Disorder? How does one know if they have BDD? How does BDD affect one’s life? And what is the treatment plan for BDD sufferers (Philips 1996)?
What is Body Dysmorphic Disorder?
Dr. Philips began this chapter by describing her first encounter with a patient who had a mild case of BDD. The patients name was Sarah, and she was a twenty four year old medical student. Sarah had recently seen a special on NBC Dateline regarding BDD. When she scheduled her appointment with Dr. Philips, she emphasized that she did not have a severe case of BDD but only mild. Dr. Philips was interested in …show more content…
Philips describes BDD as not a rare disorder, but often secretive disorder. According to statistics on a study from Brown University, out of three hundred sixteen people in an outpatient setting for psychiatric treatment, 4% have BDD. Also, out of 500 people seeking psychiatric treatment in an outpatient setting, 12% have BDD. Although these numbers are high, BDD is often not diagnosed due to its close ties with other common psychiatric disorders. If a patient does not reveal the cause of their psychiatric symptoms then they may be misdiagnosed as having another related disorder. Some disorders that may result from BDD include depression, social anxiety, panic attacks, social phobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Though 80% of BDD patients will have any one of these disorders, it is not often diagnosed due to the patient’s fear of revealing the cause behind such actions (Philips