Addressing body dysmorphic disorder through mindfulness: A new therapeutic frontier.

Body dysmorphic disorder presents in up to 2% of the general population, yet less than half seek psychological support. Some treatment barriers include poor illness insight, low body dysmorphic disorder awareness among mental health professionals and a lack of accessibility to body dysmorphic disorder-specific treatments. Currently available treatments for body dysmorphic disorder, including psychopharmacology and psychotherapy, show modest results in improving body dysmorphic disorder symptoms. With the reduced quality of life and increased risks of suicide among individuals with body dysmorphic disorder, there is a need for new and easily accessible therapeutic approaches specific to body dysmorphic disorder. Emerging research has suggested that mindfulness-based interventions show promise as an addition to available body dysmorphic disorder treatments. Clinical evidence of mindfulness-based interventions demonstrates efficacy in improving symptoms in eating disorders, social anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, conditions that have similar clinical presentations as body dysmorphic disorder. Mindfulness strategies, such as increasing interoceptive awareness, non-judgement and non-reactivity, are also suggested to reduce body image disturbances, anxiety and repetitive thoughts, and cognitive rigidity, clinical characteristics of body dysmorphic disorder. This perspective piece aims to provide evidences for integrating mindfulness into treatment protocols to support mental health professionals better address the challenges faced by individuals with body dysmorphic disorder.