Acceptance in Body Image concerns Symposium ACT for Body Image concerns ACBS World Conference IX, 2011

Transcription

1 Acceptance in Body Image concerns Symposium ACT for Body Image concerns ACBS World Conference IX, 2011 Sophie CHEVAL Private practice, Paris, France

2 What IS acceptance? WHY is it so hard? What are the underlying mechanisms of non-acceptance?

3 Acceptance is not about reality in itself Accepting painful FACTS Body Image Dissatisfaction is not correlated to an actual morphological difference BILLAUD & al., 2010 RUMSEY & HARCOURT, 2004

4 Body Image Dissatisfaction persists across time, even after a favorable change Ex. Past obesity and Phantom fat SCHWARZ & BROWNELL, 2004

5 Acceptance in Body Image concerns is NOT about what you LOOK like Being fully present to what you think, feel and remember HAYES, 1994 ; CORDOVA, 2001 Accepting your Body Image = Welcoming all psychological events associated with your Body Image

6 WHY is it so hard, then? Hypothesis: Paradox : Our physical appearance may be the part of ourselves we know the least It is like our voice

7 Consequence for Body Image Acceptance: Being stuck in our own perspective: Fusion With psychological events connected to our self-perception Mediation of words: Fusion With our conceptualized self

8 Can you really have access to what you look like? Narcissus Can we ever catch our image? Experience of our Body Image: Only from our own perspective

9 In what circumstances do you see yourself?

10 You can never see yourself as others see you: as a person in movement As far as Body Image is concerned, I do not know myself as well as I know Bill Clinton

11 Then why be so uncomfortable with being filmed? Films may not match our mental image of ourselves

12 Ex. : Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) VEALE, 2004 ; VEALE & RILEY, 2001 Struggle against doubts regarding physical appearance Compulsive mirror-checking : Diminishing the emotions linked to the uncertainty and instability of Body Image

13 We stand in our own partial selfperspective of our Body Image Credit to our inner sources of information Fusion With private events & With a conceptualized self as an aesthetic object

14 Self-perspective of Body Image How I look = how I feel + what I think about how I look Stuck inside Private events connected to my physical appearance : They are IN myself / They ARE myself Looking good = Feeling good Consequence : Psychological avoidance

15 Self-perspective of Body Image Reinforcement & endless struggle An example : shame Reinforcement & lack of flexibility An example : looking at pictures

16 Body Image concerns: a conceptualized self as an aesthetic object VEALE, 2004 ; CHEVAL, 2010 Self definition through physical traits Self = verbal rules connecting physical traits to 3 other personal dimensions 1) Being normal 2) True worth of the person 3) Risk of rejection

17 Body Image concerns: a conceptualized self as an aesthetic object 2 main behaviors connected to physical appearance Experiential avoidance 1) Achieve physical perfection Conformity to an ideal 2) Conceal imperfection(s) from others Avoidance of verbal disclosure and behavioral display SHERRY & al., 2009

18 Conclusion Aging skin concerns : A typical illustration of a conceptualized self as an aesthetic object Aesthetic object = ageless + flawless Absence of change Perfection Skin : The exterior surface of the body should represent the inner self

19 I must always look young 1) Aging skin : An autonomous and inescapable process Aging skin concerns = Struggling against an unbeatable enemy Metaphor for how vain it is to engage in striving against unpleasant psychological events

20 I must always look young 2) Fighting against aging skin : Fusion with our photographic Body Image self-perception

21 I must always look young Looking good = Living good? Botox and emotional processes HAVAS & al., 2010 Metaphor for the vital consequences of the struggle: Is looking younger worth feeling less lively?

22 Bibliography BILLAUD FERAGEN, K., BORGE, A.I.H. (2010). Peer Harassment and Satisfaction with Appearance in Children With and Without a Facial Difference. Body Image, 7, 2, CHEVAL, S. (2010). Comprendre et traiter le trouble dysmorphophobique avec l ACT. Magazine ACT, Hors-série n 3. CORDOVA, J.V. (2001). Acceptance in Behavior Therapy: Understanding the Process of Change. The Behavior Analyst, 24, 2, HAVAS,D.A.,GLENBERG,A.M.,GUTOWSKI,K.A.,LUCARELLI,M.J.,DAVIDSON,R.J.(2010).Cosmetic Use of Botulinum Toxin-A Affects Processing of Emotional Language. Psychological Science, 21,7, HAYES, S.C. (1994). Content, Context and the Types of Psychological Acceptance. In HAYES, S.C., JACOBSON, N.S., FOLLETTE, M., DOUGHER, M.J. Acceptance and Change: Content and Context in Psychotherapy. Reno, NV, Context Press. RUMSEY N., HARCOURT, D. (2004). Body Image and Disfigurement: Issues and Interventions. Body Image, 1, 1, SCHWARTZ M.B., BROWNELL K.D. (2004). Obesity and Body Image. Body Image, 1, 1, SHERRY, S.B., VRIEND, J.L., HEWITT, P.L., SHERRY, D.L., FLETT, G.L., & WARDROP, A.A. (2009). Perfectionism Dimensions, Appearance Schemas, and Body Image Disturbance in Community Members and University Students. Body Image, 6, 2, VEALE, D. (2004). Advances in a Cognitive Behavioral Model of Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Body Image, 1, VEALE, D., RILEY, S. (2001). Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Ugliest of Them All? The Psychopathology of Mirror Gazing in Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39,