Skin And Psyche

It’s a troubling phenomenon that many of us think of as a modern psychological epidemic, a symptom of extreme emotional turmoil in young people, especially young women: cutting and self-harm. But few of us know that it was 150 years ago—with the introduction of institutional asylum psychiatry—that self-mutilation was first described as a category of behavior, which psychiatrists, and later psychologists and social workers, attempted to understand. With care and focus, Psyche on the Skin tells the secret but necessary history of self-harm from the 1860s to the present, showing just how deeply entrenched this practice is in human culture. Sarah Chaney looks at many different kinds of self-injurious acts, including sexual self-mutilation and hysterical malingering in the late Victorian period, self-marking religious sects, and self-mutilation and self-destruction in art, music, and popular culture. As she shows, while self-harm is a widespread phenomenon found in many different contexts, it doesn’t necessarily have any kind of universal meaning—it always has to be understood within the historical and cultural context that surrounds it. Bravely sharing her own personal experiences with self-harm and placing them within its wider history, Chaney offers a sensitive but engaging account—supported with powerful images—that challenges the misconceptions and controversies that surround this often misunderstood phenomenon. The result is crucial reading for therapists and other professionals in the field, as well as those affected by this emotive, challenging act.

Practicing dermatologists are likely to encounter several patients who have psychological difficulties in dealing with various skin conditions. While there are several factors that might be responsible for these difficulties (such as physical and mental stress), it is becoming increasingly clear nowadays that skin disease patients experiencing such issues need to be managed with a multidisciplinary approach to improve treatment outcomes. Skin and the Psyche delves into the realm of psychodermatology – the cusp of dermatology, psychology and psychiatry. The book enhances the reader´s knowledge about relevant topics such as the biology of the skin, the impact of stress on skin inflammation, acne vulgaris, skin diseases secondary to delusions and other psychiatric diseases, psoriasis and much more. Different forms of non-pharmacological treatments of these diseases are also mentioned. The book also contains a concise guide to building a psychodermatology clinic. Skin and the Psyche is a vital reference for dermatologists, hospital managers and psychiatrists looking for tips to improve their ability to interact with individuals while assisting them to cope with dermatological diseases and conditions.

This book is the first text written by a multidisciplinary team of psychiatrists, psychologists, child specialists and dermatologists for all the health professionals who treat patients with skin problems. They cover a broad range of issues affecting these patients from stigma and coping to quality of life and psychological treatments.

Skin disease can be more than skin deep Our skin is one of the first things people notice about us. Blemishes, rashes, dry, flaky skin – all these can breed insecurity, even suicidality, even though the basic skin condition is relatively benign. Skin disease can lead to psychiatric disturbance. But symptoms of skin disease can also indicate psychological disturbance. Scratching, scarring, bleeding, rashes. These skin disturbances can be the result of psychiatric disease. How do you help a dermatological patient with a psychological reaction? How do you differentiate psychological causes from true skin disease? These are challenges that ask dermatologists, psychiatrists, psychologists and other health care specialists to collaborate. Practical Psychodermatology provides a simple, comprehensive, practical and up-to-date guide for the management of patients with psychocutaneous disease. Edited by dermatologists and psychiatrists to ensure it as relevant to both specialties it covers: History and examination Assessment and risk management Psychiatric aspects of dermatological disease Dermatological aspects of psychiatric disease Management and treatment The international and multi-specialty approach of Practical Psychodermatology provides a unique toolkit for dermatologists, psychiatrists, psychologists and other health care specialists needing to care for patients whose suffering is more than skin deep.

Skin is the border of our body and, as such, it is that through which we relate to others but also what separates us from them. Through skin, we speak: when we display it, when we tan it, when we tattoo it, or when we mute it by covering it with clothes. Skin exhibits social relationships, displays power and the effects of power, explains many things about who we are, how others perceive us and how we exist in the world. And when it gets sick, it turns us into monsters. In Skin, Sergio del Molino speaks of these monsters in history and literature, whose lives have been tormented by bad skin: Stalin secretly taking a bath in his dacha, Pablo Escobar getting up late and shutting himself in the shower, Cyndi Lauper performing a commercial for a medicine promising relief from skin disease, John Updike sunburned in the Caribbean, Nabokov writing to his wife from exile, ‘Everything would be fine, if it weren’t for the damned skin.’ As a psoriasis sufferer, Sergio del Molino includes himself in this gallery of monsters through whose stories he delves into the mysteries of skin. What is for some a badge of pride and for others a source of anguish and shame, skin speaks of us and for us when we don’t speak with words.

The last fifty years have encompassed unparalleled development in the world of scientific medical research. Yet, the causation of many diseases eludes consciousness. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the sometimes neglected discipline of dermatology, as a scientific basis for causation and treatment is offered to very few diseases of the skin. In fact, the cause is unknown in the vast majority of cases. This work is an exploration of the unconscious psychic background of acute, but mainly chronic, skin diseases. It is a study which includes both the personal unconscious of each individual and the vast archetypal world with its communication by image and symbol, which is named the collective unconscious or objective psyche. Its reality was established 100 years ago by C.G. Jung's early work with the galvanometer and the word association test, through the medium of the skin. He was to describe psyche, including consciousness and the unconscious realm, as the greatest of all cosmic wonders. His concept of the human soul included this totality of psyche. The development of the field of biofeedback later in the last century revealed the extraordinary ability of the skin to reflect the inner life of psyche. In this psychological exploration of each individual troubled by problems of the skin, a wide variety of psychic emotional disturbances was uncovered in the course of the study. It also became apparent that the skin is a paramount psychic reflector in a singularly graphic way in many instances. The conscious recognition of these hidden disturbances and the acceptance by the individual proved to be the key factor in the study. This realization with its inherent meaning usually brought amelioration of symptoms and often a resolution of the ailment. The skin disease in such cases is a message from the soul itself.

Patients with psychocutaneous disease may present to multiple professionals to seek care. The multidimensional nature of the conditions can lead to specialists being fearful of how to properly manage patients. For example, a dermatologist may be unfamiliar and uncomfortable with acquiring sensitive psychosocial information and a psychiatrist may not know management protocols of wound care related to the patient’s condition. With the basic information provided in The Essentials of Psychodermatology, healthcare providers can increase their comfort and become less hesitant when making decisions in determining the proper treatment course and assessing the need for referral. This book provides vital information for a multidisciplinary audience to spark collaboration, increased awareness, and ultimately, improved patient-care and will find audience with: Healthcare providers from multiple diverse fields such as, but not limited to, family medicine, dermatology, and psychiatry; Physicians, physician’s assistants, nurses, psychologists, and students with exposure to patients with psychocutaneous conditions and/or a special interest in the field; and Professors, educators, and researchers with an interest in psychodermatology or interdisciplinary medicine.

Filipino Americans have a long and rich history with and within the United States, and they are currently the second largest Asian group in the country. However, very little is known about how their historical and contemporary relationship with America may shape their psychological experiences. The most insidious psychological consequence of their historical and contemporary experiences is colonial mentality or internalized oppression. Some common manifestations of this phenomenon are described below: • Skin-whitening products are used often by Filipinos in the Philippines to make their skins lighter. Skin whitening clinics and businesses are popular in the Philippines as well. The "beautiful" people such as actors and other celebrities endorse these skin-whitening procedures. Children are told to stay away from the sun so they do not get "too dark." Many Filipinos also regard anything "imported" to be more special than anything "local" or made in the Philippines. • In the United States, many Filipino Americans make fun of "fresh-off-the-boats" (FOBs) or those who speak English with Filipino accents. Many Filipino Americans try to dilute their "Filipino-ness" by saying that they are mixed with some other races. Also, many Filipino Americans regard Filipinos in the Philippines, and pretty much everything about the Philippines, to be of "lower class" and those of the "third world." The historical and contemporary reasons for why Filipino -/ Americans display these attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors - often referred to as colonial mentality - are explored in Brown Skin, White Minds. This book is a peer-reviewed publication that integrates knowledge from multiple scholarly and scientific disciplines to identify the past and current catalysts for such self-denigrating attitudes and behaviors. It takes the reader from indigenous Tao culture, Spanish and American colonialism, colonial mentality or internalized oppression along with its implications on Kapwa, identity, and mental health, to decolonization in the clinical, community, and research settings. This book is intended for the entire community - teachers, researchers, students, and service providers interested in or who are working with Filipinos and Filipino Americans, or those who are interested in the psychological consequences of colonialism and oppression. This book may serve as a tool for remembering the past and as a tool for awakening to address the present.