Body-image disturbance: cognitive behavioural formulation and intervention.

An account of the genesis and maintenance of disturbed body image is presented, drawing on cognitive-behavioural concepts of human experience, and emphasizing the central importance of fear and avoidance in mediating such difficulties. Intervention strategies, extrapolated from work in dysmorphophobia and in anxiety disorders, are described, together with a clinical example. Difficulties with the cognitive-behavioural approach to disturbed body image are discussed, and possible applications of the formulation to client care are suggested.