British cosmetic clinics will screen clients for their mental health problems

In the UK, cosmetic clinics will start badessing clients for their mental health problems. Doctors fear that the desire to change the physical appearance of some people is due to body image obsessions and that some treatments may be harmful.

"Cosmetics companies imposing stricter controls to protect the mental health of young people are a big step forward," said Professor Stephen Powis, Medical Director of NHS England.

However, he believes that further regulation is needed. "Voluntary measures on their own mental health will all too often remain in the hands of providers acting as a law in their own right.

"Appearance is one of the things that matters most to young people, and the bombing of idealized images and the availability of quick resolution procedures help fuel an epidemic of mental health and illness." 39; anxiety ".

A new organization, the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners, has been created to enable voluntary self-regulation. After bad publicity, practitioners of cosmetic surgery and retailers offering beauty treatments rank in the ranks of government and medical badociations.

Kitty Wallace, Board Member of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation, told The Guardian, "We know that people with a dysmorphic body disorder are more likely to use" quick fix "procedures that in the end, do not correct and contribute to the underlying psychological situation.

Tom Madders, Campaign Manager at YoungMinds, added, "Young people with mental health issues often feel pressure on their body image. It is therefore good news that cosmetics companies are trained to detect signs of poor mental health. But we also need broader action across society to help young people to have a positive image of their personality and their appearance. The fashion, music and advertising sectors should all do more to promote authentic and diverse body images. "

Michael Cook is a publisher of BioEdge.

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