Skin Deep by Ted Grossbart Book Review
In Skin Deep, Dr. Ted Grossbart, along with Dr. Carl Sherman, a new way to deal with skin disorders is addressed, based on a new medical field: psychodermatology. Within this field, skin disorders are treated both physically and psychologically, due to the fact that many patients who are affected by skin diseases also have related psychological problems that directly affect their disorder. Dr. Ted Grossbart is a licensed clinical psychologist, as well as a member of Vitiligo Support International’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee. He was first introduced to the idea that psychological treatment could be combined with physical treatments when he was in graduate school, but he didn’t become involved with psychodermatology himself until years later. Now, he is a leading expert on the subject and uses it often to treat his patients with skin disorders.
The book Skin Deep: A Mind Body Approach to Healthy Skin first takes an in-depth look at the skin itself, looking at how it responds to the world. Even though skin disorders are physical, flair-ups and symptoms can be caused by emotional stimulants. Just as other organs in your body respond to stimulants, your skin does as well. It is important to listen to what your skin might be trying to tell you about other aspects of your life, including stress levels. Dr. Grossbart explains that if you truly want to understand your symptoms, then it is not enough to only regard them as symptoms of a disease. He says that by looking at why your skin behaves in certain ways, along with when and where the symptoms occur on your body, you can see a bigger picture. You can then track and use patterns in order to better understand your disorder and yourself.
In the next section, Grossbart goes on to explain different exercises and techniques you can use to try to change the way you think, including self-hypnosis and relaxation. Achieving these altered states of mind can help you control stress and anxiety, which can improve your mental well-being and allow you to take more control of your body. He includes many different exercises and techniques so that readers can figure out what works best for them. Once you can gain the control over your mental state, you can begin to see progress with the physical symptoms of your skin disorder.
The third section of the book discusses some of the signs of progress of these treatments, which may look different than the quick results of some medicinal approaches. Also, in some cases, patients are not willing to let go of their symptoms for psychological reasons they may not even realize, and this subconscious desire to maintain their disorder could actually stop the treatment from being effective. Grossbart looks at what he calls “ghosts” that may be affecting a patient’s progress. The final section of the book is a directory that contains more specific information about the different skin disorders.
Dr. Grossbart has been the keynote speaker at Vitiligo Support International Conferences in Chicago and Los Angeles, along with Recouleur® founder Audrey VanStockum, who discussed which vitamins are helpful in treating vitiligo and why, along with other lifestyle and natural vitiligo treatment tips for those with vitiligo. Like Grossbart, Recouleur® is ultimately concerned with getting patients the kind of treatment they need in order to combat their skin disorder, which is why Recouleur® strongly recommends this book for those who have tried traditional vitiligo treatments with no avail. Recouleur® is the sole source for Skin Deep, and books can be ordered directly from its website.
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