APN CLINICAL FOCUS WEBINAR SERIES

Dr Alison Mahoney

Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression, St Vincent’s Hospital

About the ‘New Frontiers’ webinars: In 2020 the Anxiety Practitioners Network will be bringing you a range of webinars aimed at providing an up to date review of the current evidence-based psychological treatments for the anxiety disorders as well as emerging treatment innovations to help further improve treatment outcomes.

About this webinar: People who experience body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) are extremely preoccupied with perceived flaws in their physical appearance. Other people don’t perceive these flaws or perceive them as slight. People with BDD often seek out expensive cosmetic, dermatological, surgical, and dental interventions to fix their perceived flaws, but this can lead to further distress and disability. Evidence suggests that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) are effective treatments. This seminar will describe the clinical features and CBT conceptualisation and treatment of BDD via detailed case studies. Interesting clinical complexities such as the overlap with olfactory reference syndrome, eating disorders, and excoriation will also be explored

About the presenter: Dr Mahoney is a senior clinical psychologist at the Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression (CRUfAD) at St Vincent’s Hospital and Conjoint Lecturer at the School of Psychiatry, UNSW. She holds a PhD from UNSW and a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology from Macquarie University.  Dr Mahoney specialises in the assessment and treatment of anxiety and related disorders within a cognitive behaviour therapy approach. Her research interests lie in understanding the nature and management of these disorders, with a particular emphasis on identify and addressing transdiagnostic cognitive and behavioural processes. Dr Mahoney has supported the safe conduct of over 30 clinical trials at CRUfAD and has an established track record of 43 publications.