Derm. Misc. 6 - Psychology of Skin Disease

Question 1

5 main areas of potential impact of skin disease on QoL?

Answer 1

Physical comfort and functioning
Acceptability to self and others
Emotional well-being/ self-esteem
Social functioning/ behavioural
Confidence in the nature and management of the condition

Question 2

What patients are at risk of secondary emotional disorders?

Answer 2

“High-risk” aesthetic sites/ large areas

Coping ability - risk and resilience factors e.g. premorbid personality/ psychiatric history

Question 3

What is distress?

Answer 3

an aversive state in which a person is unable to adapt completely to stressors and their resulting stress and shows maladaptive behaviours

Question 4

What can be used to screen for distress?

Answer 4

Vital signs

Tenderness/ pain

Question 5

What is the triage system for grading the level of distress?

Answer 5

High
Medium
Low

Question 6

How to deal with a patients distress? (3)

Answer 6

Summarise problems
Start treatment
Suggest other options

Question 7

What is Psychosomatic medicine?

Answer 7

an interdisciplinary medical field exploring the relationships among social, psychological, and behavioral factors on bodily processes (disease course and outcome) and quality of life in humans and animals (holistic care in clinical practice) - along with the integration of psychological therapies in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of medical disease

Question 8

What are the 3 forms of psychosomatic disease related to the skin?

Answer 8

Primary skin disease precipitated or exacerbated by emotional factors
Secondary psychiatric illness arising from or exacerbated by primary skin disease
Primary psychiatric disorder which is manifest via skin lesions

Question 9

When to adopt a psychosomatic approach to medicine?

Answer 9

When signs of emotional distress
When medical Rx alone is not effective
Psychiatric disorder but does not wish to see a psychiatrist
when symptoms not compatible with signs
When clinical + pathological features do not correlate

Question 10

What are the 3 parts of the biopsychosocial model?

Answer 10

Genetic
Psychiatric
Environmental and life stressors

Question 11

What tool can be used to assess the impact a dermatological condition has on a patients life?

Answer 11

Dermatology Life Quality Index