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F E AT U R E

PSYCHODERMATOLOGY aestheticmed.co.uk

Outside in

Eleanor Vousden finds out what aesthetic

practitioners can learn from holistic therapists
about addressing the mind-skin link

n his book Skin Deep, psychologist Dr Ted Grossbart Dr Alia Ahmed, a consultant dermatologist who runs
writes: “Shut anger or sadness or frustration out the a psychodermatology service at Eudelo Skin Clinic in
door and it comes through in the window, or often London, and practises in the NHS. “Psychodermatology
enough, through the body. Your heart ‘attacks’. Your considers both the mind and the skin together when seeing
Iasthma ‘gasps’. Your eczema ‘weeps’.” a person with a skin problem.” These patients are often
If we’re unable to process stress or emotion, it can facing a breadth of skin problems or body dysmorphia
show up in the form of acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea or disorder, coupled with emotional distress.
even disorders such as dermatillomania, which manifests Neuroscientist Dr Claudia Aguirre, who specialises in
as repetitive and compulsive skin picking. This can affect the mind-skin link, explains that our negative thoughts
our emotions and self-esteem. In fact, a study published can affect the skin far more than we may realise. A term
in the British Journal of Dermatology found that those in psychology called rumination, which is when someone
who suffered with acne were 63% more likely to develop has a recurring stream of negative thoughts, can wreak
depression in the first year of being diagnosed. 1 havoc on the skin. “This can hinder our healing, since it can
“The link between mind and skin has been known lead to depressive thoughts or feelings of defeat about
for centuries, dating as far back as Hippocrates,” says a recurring condition,” she says. “So, we can get stuck in

62 Aesthetic Medicine • June 2020