Psychology is an important area of consideration in the aesthetics industry, but one that is not always given the space for discussion that it deserves.
In many cases, the desire to seek aesthetic treatments can be driven by underlying psychological factors such as self-esteem and body image. It is vital these factors are taken into account by practitioners before proceeding with treatments to ensure optimal patient satisfaction and best outcomes for both clinician and patient.
Of course, for some patients, if their only criticism of themselves is centered around the desire for fuller lips or a smoother forehead, ‘correcting’ these perceived insecurities can, in some cases, achieve a positive result in terms of self-esteem.
However, if a patient's feelings of dissatisfaction are more deep-seated, these procedures are often not the quick fix the patient hoped for. Aesthetic procedures should not serve as a temporary sticking-plaster – for the best interests of the patient and practitioner.
I am delighted to introduce our new ‘Psychology’ section headed up by Dr Deborah Auer, to sit alongside our regular clinical, professional and practice management related content.
Dr Auer is a Chartered Psychologist and Psychotherapist specialising in working with individuals with appearance-related distress and those seeking cosmetic procedures. She provides consultation to surgeons and practitioners to review their current assessment processes, and also provides training to practitioners to help them better understand how to implement measures and/or screening tools safely and ethically.
Deborah's first piece for the Journal of Aesthetic Nursing discusses the complexities that sometimes underlie a patient's request for procedures, highlighting the importance of practitioners having a robust and ethical assessment process in place.
I am thrilled to introduce this collaboration with Deborah, and would like to invite you, our valued readers, to please get in touch with me if you have a psychology-related topic you would like to see discussed. I would be very pleased to hear from you.
I am certain that this is something that many of you will already be giving due consideration to, but I hope this regular feature will serve to further support and improve your best practice through deeper exploration.