Psych Vivas · General adult psychiatry — OCRD
Body dysmorphic disorder — structured clinical viva
Fellowship viva on delusional-insight BDD, SRI first-line, CBT-BDD fidelity, suicide risk, and non-collusion with surgery.
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Target exams
Interpretation
Reveal interpretation
This is severe BDD with absent/delusional insight, not automatically schizophrenia. Appearance-focused conviction with checking/camouflage and absence of primary thought disorder/hallucinations keeps the formulation in OCRD. Insight is often poorer than in OCD, which traps candidates into antipsychotic-only pathways.[2][5]
Prior treatment was inadequate. Supportive talk without exposures is not CBT-BDD. Brief low-dose SSRIs are not adequate BDD trials (need high-dose SRI for ~12–16 weeks including time at max tolerated dose). First steps: specialist CBT-BDD with ERP-style elements while optimising an SRI such as fluoxetine (RCT evidence including delusional-insight participants).[1][3][5]
Olanzapine demand. Antipsychotics are not first-line monotherapy for core BDD. If later considered for severe agitation, comorbidity, or specialist augmentation contexts, that is secondary to SRI/CBT and requires monitoring — not a substitute for OCRD care.[5]
Surgery letter. Do not collude. Cosmetic procedures have high dissatisfaction and symptom migration in BDD; redirect to psychiatric treatment.[4]
Suicide risk is high in clinical BDD; assess thoroughly and safety-plan regardless of insight argument.[6]
Key points
[1] [4] [5]References
- [1]Phillips KA, Albertini RS, Rasmussen SA A randomized placebo-controlled trial of fluoxetine in body dysmorphic disorder Arch Gen Psychiatry, 2002.PMID 11926939
- [2]Phillips KA, Pinto A, Hart AS, et al. A comparison of insight in body dysmorphic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder J Psychiatr Res, 2012.PMID 22819678
- [3]Wilhelm S, Phillips KA, Greenberg JL, et al. Efficacy and Posttreatment Effects of Therapist-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy vs Supportive Psychotherapy for Adults With Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial JAMA Psychiatry, 2019.PMID 30785624
- [4]Crerand CE, Menard W, Phillips KA Surgical and minimally invasive cosmetic procedures among persons with body dysmorphic disorder Ann Plast Surg, 2010.PMID 20467296
- [5]Castle D, Beilharz F, Phillips KA, et al. Body dysmorphic disorder: a treatment synthesis and consensus on behalf of the International College of Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders Int Clin Psychopharmacol, 2021.PMID 33230025
- [6]Phillips KA, Menard W Suicidality in body dysmorphic disorder: a prospective study Am J Psychiatry, 2006.PMID 16816236