Diagnosis
After theoretically discussing with Sally how she's been feeling and conducting a clinical interview, my partners and I have come to the conclusion that Sally is exhibiting the symptoms of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and Social Anxiety Disorder. Since her teenage years, Sally has been picking at her skin daily. The concern Sally has about her minor skin anomaly is one of the main symptoms of BDD. Impairment in her social and occupational areas of functioning are additional symptoms that she strongly shows. The picking started on her face when she noticed red spots, but as she got older she began picking at other areas of her body, such as her chest and her back because of the overanalyzing …show more content…
The option that tends to have a higher rate of effectiveness is cognitive-behavior therapy. Since Sally has a dual diagnosis of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and Social Phobia, starting off with techniques like, exposure, cognitive restricting, rehearsal or role-play can be extremely beneficial for her. Especially in her case, since her social phobia is impairing her performance in the work place and her social life. If she was able to develop coping strategies with CBT, she could lessen her skin picking episodes, which could in turn, lessen her anxiety from her social phobia. Research has suggested that CBT was proven 82% effective for patients with BDD, and was also found to be 84% effective when used for treating Social Phobia. Sally should respond well to the CBT, but could experience discomfort when she initially experiences the exposure technique of CBT. Experiencing situations that trigger her onset of picking could create anxiety/fear, but would decrease once the psychologist successfully teaches her the right strategies. Another options Sally might consider when seeking treatment is taking a SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) along with her CBT. Both Social Phobia and BDD can be treated with SSRIs, and have a high efficiency rate, especially when accompanied with CBT. Some options of SSRI sally could take would be Anafranil or Luvox. These SSRI are used when treating patients with BDD, and in Sally’s case it would be recommended for her to take a SSRI that is primarily used to treat BDD, instead of Social Phobia. The reason being that her initial diagnosis was BDD, and the development of Social Phobia after the fact, so it would be more imperative to focus of the first diagnosis. A treatment that Sally should never seek out is plastic surgery. Twenty-five percent of people seeking plastic surgery have BDD, and it often worsens the symptoms of