The role of body image in pediatric illness: therapeutic challenges and opportunities.
The body image is the individual's mental representation of his own body, a representation that encompasses both perceptual and ideational components. In this paper I will explore the concept of body image, its development and its relationship to self-image and object relations in children with chronic medical illness. From this discussion and with the help of specific cases of medically ill children I have treated for a variety of psychological symptoms, I will recommend an approach to the assessment and treatment of this challenging group of patients.
Walker
Audrey
A
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA. auwalker@montefiore.org
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D001828:Body Image; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009769:Object Attachment; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D012917:Social Adjustment