Skin Deep
Skin Deep
A Mind/Body Program for Healthy Skin
A noted psychotherapist explores the powerful connections between emotional health and persistent skin disorders
Many skin sufferers have benefited in recent decades from the advent of high-tech aids such as lasers and cryosurgery and new wonder drugs such as steroids and vitamin A derivatives. But many continue to suffer from conditions such as persistent eczema, stubborn warts, psoriasis, and recurrent herpes. For those who been helped by specialists and superspecialists or by creams, lotions, and medications, Drs. Grossbart and Sherman offer hope in Skin Deep: A Mind/Body Program for Healthy Skin.
"An expert in how emotions affect skin, the tools of [psychologist Ted Grossbart's] trade are the powers of his patients' own minds—positive imaging, relaxation, even hypnosis. —Harper's Bazaar
"Grossbart teaches techniques that patients can use to relax themselves under stress. He shows them how to take their attention away from pain or itching. And he tries to give patients insight into the causes of their symptoms, so they can dispel them consciously."—Psychology Today
"They eyes are windows to the soul, a poet has said. Its truth has seldom been disproven. The skin, our most extensive organ, also speaks volumes about that is happening within the body and often cries out for attention in various manifestations."—Nutrition Health Review
From Publishers Weekly
If you've ever blushed, you know how easily your skin reflects your emotions. For those with persistent skin problems, this book may bring welcome relief. The authors—Grossbart is a clinical psychologist and Sherman a medical science writer—apply "a principle both ancient and often forgotten: The mind and body are one." In addition to suggesting a visit to a dermatologist, they recommend a combination of techniques, including relaxation, imaging, hypnosis and psychotherapy, to help readers understand hidden conflicts that may cause or intensify their skin problems. They also illuminate the complex role that long-term skin problems, such as herpes, warts, or psoriasis, play in the lives of those afflicted. This should be required reading for anyone suffering with a skin problem. The authors do an excellent job translating psychological jargon.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grossbart and Sherman offer a how-to manual of psychological exercises and techniques that, when combined with dermatological care and, possibly, psychotherapy, have proven effective in curing or putting into remission a number of skin diseases resistant to traditional medical care. Brief case histories enliven the text, and there is concrete advice both on how to go about getting professional help and on what to do when it is your child who has a skin problem. Essential for anyone with a stubborn skin disease, this book is also recommended for other readers interested in the relationship between mind and body.—John Moryl, Yeshiva Univ. Lib., New York
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
