Before the Botox, Patients in the UK Will Have to Undergo Mental Health Screenings

   By SheSpeaksTeam  May 06, 2019
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Cosmetic procedure clinics in the UK will soon be doing more than smoothing out fine lines and wrinkles. A new initiative will require these clinics to provide patients who request Botox and fillers to undergo a mental health screening before receiving services.

Refinery29 reports about the new requirements being placed on cosmetic clinics in the UK to screen for mental health. The idea behind the initiative is to help patients who may be suffering from Body Dysmorphic Disorder  (BDD) and try to get them the proper help. A patient with BDD becomes obsessed with imagined flaws or defects and often seeks treatment with Botox or fillers as a quick temporary fix.

It is estimated that there are 1 in 50 sufferers of BDD currently living in the UK, with many of them just teens and young adults. The Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners has agreed to implement the mental health screening and says that, “pressures on young people’s mental health are greater than they ever have been.”

The new mental health checks are hoped to give practitioners a better way to spot patients suffering from BDD as well as have conversations with their patients about ways they can get help for their mental illness. Kitty Wallace from the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation believes these cosmetic clinics are the perfect place for doctors to help patients take those first steps toward healing. Wallace says, “Cosmetic procedures like Botox, now widely available on the high street, are putting people at risk and can have a damaging effect on the mental health of young people.” She adds, “We know that people with body image problems are more likely to turn to 'quick fix' procedures with body dysmorphic disorder - a condition which causes distress and significantly impacts on quality of life.”

What do you think of the UK implementing mental health screenings at cosmetic procedure clinics?

Do you think the U.S. would benefit by following suit?

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