The Body Image Workbook: An 8-Step Program for Learning to Like Your Looks, by T.F. Cash

摘要

If you are a clinician who works with overweight andnobese patients, you are likely struck on an almostndaily basis by the emotional suffering experiencednby many of these individuals. Clinicians commonlynencounter overweight and obese patients who report feelingntrapped in a body that they—quite frankly—hate.nThese individuals often hope that if they could just losenweight their lives might be different. They frequentlynexpress deep dissatisfaction with their appearance andnmay blame their appearance for a range of problems inntheir life. In fact, a majority of women, and many men innthe U.S., have some degree of dissatisfaction with theirnbody weight and physical appearance. While we oftennspend most of our time helping these people make decisionsnabout their treatment options, one topic that oftennis not given adequate attention is how they feel aboutntheir bodies. It is understandable that we avoid this topicnbecause it typically generates a good deal of emotionalnreaction from the patient—emotional reactions that wenmay not feel capable of helping them handle in a productivenway. If you feel that you do not know much about thenpsychology of body image and you are curious about thisnarea, I strongly encourage you to read The Body ImagenWorkbook: An 8-Step Program for Learning to LikenYour Looks by Thomas Cash. While it does not help yournpatients lose weight, it may do something equally, or evennmore, important: help them work towards a more productivenand less troubling image of themselves and their bodies.nI suspect it will be one of those books that you refernto your patients on a regular basis.