Vitiligo is a progressive condition involving a loss of pigmentation in the skin; it can be disfiguring and no effective treatment or cure exists. Although vitiligo's medical effects have been studied extensively, little attention has been paid to its psychological impact or to the effects of psychological state on the illness itself. To address these issues, the present study examined the effect of cognitive behavioural therapy on coping with vitiligo and adaptation to the negative effects on body image, quality of life and self-esteem in adult patients. The study also examined whether any psychological gains acquired from psychological therapy would influence the progression of the condition itself. Two matched groups of vitiligo patients were compared, one of which received cognitive-behavioural therapy over a period of 8 weeks, while the other received no changes to their treatment status. All patients were assessed on self-esteem, body image and quality of life, prior to, immediately following and 5 months following the end of therapy. The progression of the condition was assessed by photographing patients prior to the start of counselling and 5 months following counselling. Results suggest that patients can benefit from cognitive behavioural therapy in terms of coping and living with vitiligo. There is also preliminary evidence to suggest that psychological therapy may have a positive effect on the progression of the condition itself. Implications for incorporating psychological counselling into patient care and management are discussed.

The findings have important theoretical and clinical implications for psychological management of patients with psoriasis and eczema. Treatment protocols may benefit by targeting schemas. Further studies are needed to investigate the benefits of schema-focused therapy in patients with skin disease.

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Background: Vitiligo is a progressive condition involving a loss of pigmentation in the skin. It can be disfiguring and no fully effective treatment or cure exists. Although medical effects of vitiligo have been studied extensively, less attention has been paid to its psychological impact. Methods: This research compared the efficacy of group cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and group personcentred therapy with respect to ameliorating the disabling effects of the condition. Participants were randomly allocated to either the control group, the CBT treatment group or the person-centred treatment group. Participants underwent 8 consecutive weeks of therapy and psychological and physiological gains were recorded before therapy, after therapy and at 6 and 12-month follow-up. The study used a mixed factorial design for the questionnaire analysis. The independent factor was the three different experimental conditions; control, CBT and person-centred therapy and the repeated measures factor was assessment point; pre-treatment, post-treatment, 6-month follow-up and 12-month follow-up. Results: Unlike previous work with different psychotherapy formats, little psychosocial or physiological benefits were gained as a result of the two group therapy programmes. Conclusion: This research helps us to understand more fully the efficacy of psychological therapy with a vitiligo population and will help direct health professionals to the most appropriate format for future use.

IntroductionRosacea (including facial erythema) has a negative impact on psychological and emotional health. This survey aimed to assess the impact of facial erythema on subconscious perceptions and the initial reactions of others and how this affects attitudes in different settings. The survey also measured the impact of facial erythema on a person’s emotional and psychological wellbeing.MethodsA total of 6831 participants from eight countries completed online computer-assisted web interviewing psychological assessments based on the implicit association test. Traditional questionnaires provided data on the impact of facial erythema and perceptions of people with rosacea from other participants.ResultsFacial erythema was strongly associated with poor health and negative personality traits with participants reporting negative impacts of rosacea emotionally, socially and in the workplace. Nearly 80% reported difficulty in controlling facial erythema but those with physician-diagnosed rosacea had significantly improved control versus those with undiagnosed rosacea (39% vs 20%, p < 0.05).ConclusionsPeople with facial erythema have to manage their own psychological barriers to cope with the disease and deal with the prejudice and negative first impressions of others. Formal diagnosis, advice and treatment from a healthcare professional improve rosacea control.FundingGalderma.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13555-015-0077-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.