Case report
Some reflections on body dysmorphic disorder by proxy
T. Gofers, I. Verhagen, T.K. Bouman
Summary
Body dysmorphic disorder by proxy is a body image disorder that causes considerable distress and discomfort to the patient and to his or her close relatives and friends. There have been hardly any publications on this topic and little is know about treatment. In this paper we present the case of a 36-year-old male who exhibited extreme dissatisfaction with his wife’s appearance. In particular, cognitive behaviour therapy and several systemic interventions led to a marked reduction in the patient’s symptoms.