Abstract

MULLER, Marisa Campio  and  RAMOS, Denise Gimenez. Psychodermatology: an interface between psychology and dermatology. Psicol. cienc. prof. [online]. 2004, vol.24, n.3, pp. 76-81. ISSN 1414-9893.

The aim of this article is to present some results of the author’s doctorate thesis. The theme of the thesis was a study with patients suffering from vitiligo, through the analytic approach, in order to see vitiligo as a possibility of symbolic manifestation of the psyche/body relation. Thirteen women were part of the study, whereas ten were given medical and psychological assistance for six months. Among these women, five were given group psychological therapy, and five received individual psychological therapy. Three patients were given only medical assistance for the same period. This differentiated assistance aimed at assessing if there would be any difference to the patients’ clinical answer (condition of repigmentation). The results indicate that the analytical model allowed the symbolic comprehension of the vitiligo disease as a manifestation of unaware contents which needed to be integrated to consciousness. Those patients who received both medical and psychological treatment presented a higher percentage of up to 80% of repigmentation while the ones who were under medical assistance presented only 20% of repigmentation. This results showed the importance of a joint work in the psychosomatic manifestation diseases.

Keywords : Psychodermatology; Vitiligo; Body-mind integration; Visualization.

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