Body Image Workbook , livre ebook

“The problem of body image dissatisfaction is sadly epidemic in today’s world. To dislike your own body is to dislike yourself. A negative body image needlessly diminishes the quality of your life. The arrival of The Body Image Workbook brings hoped-for relief. Dr. Cash is an acclaimed professional whose eight-step program is sensitive and solution-giving.”
—Dr. Joyce Brothers
“Dr. Cash is one of the most sensitive and sympathetic voices on the subject of body image. He brings knowledge and care, intelligence and kindness to a complicated, loaded issue. The Body Image Workbook offers a clear road map to understanding body image problems and relieving them.”
—Linda Wells, editor-in-chief, Allure magazine, former beauty editor, New York Times
“Dr. Cash has a knack for translating the best of what science offers into something friendly, supportive, and helpful.”
—Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D., director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University
“This workbook admirably fulfills the author’s objective and promise. It is useful, empathetic, thorough, and common-sensed. My feedback for the author? Nothing, except congratulations!”
—Robert M. Goldwyn, MD, clinical professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, Division of Plastic Surgery, former chief of plastic surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
“The suffering associated with body image distress can dramatically undermine one’s quality of life. Incisively extracting the most helpful findings from thirty years of scientific research and clinical experience, Cash has very effectively created a beautifully organized body image workbook that will help many people. His program offers both hope for relief from body image suffering and practical strategies that can make that hope a reality.”
—Thomas Pruzinsky, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT
“Cash has produced an excellent revision of The Body Image Workbook . The content is clear, appropriate, and based firmly on published research evidence. Therapeutic techniques that we know are helpful are presented in an accessible and supportive style, with clear guidance and useful help sheets to enable readers to develop new skills and to monitor change. This is essential reading for anyone with body image concerns. It is also a useful resource for professional therapists who wish to help clients who are experiencing distressing body-related thoughts and feelings.”
—Dr Sarah Grogan, professor of health psychology at Staffordshire University, Staffordshire, UK, and author of Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women, and Children
Dear reader,
The print edition of The Body Image Workbook comes with many worksheets throughout the book.
In order to maintain the usability of the original workbook, worksheets and any other supplemental materials are available for you to download and print in pdf format. Please visit:

www.nhpubs.com/5464

You also may find that you can complete the exercises satisfactorily in a notebook or by using the comment function on your ebook-reading device.

Thank you,
New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
An Eight-Step Program for Learning to Like Your Looks
Thomas F. Cash, PhD
New Harbinger Publications, Inc. -->
Publisher’s Note
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
Copyright © 2008 by Thomas F. Cash, Ph.D.
New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
5674 Shattuck Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
www.newharbinger.com
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books.
Acquired by Tesilya Hanauer; Cover design by Amy Shoup; Edited by Kayla Sussell
Epub ISBN: 978-1-60882-616-3
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as:
Cash, Thomas F.
The body image workbook : an eight-step program for learning to like your looks / Thomas F. Cash. -- 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
ISBN-13: 978-1-57224-546-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-57224-546-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Body image. 2. Body image--Problems, exercises, etc. 3. Self-acceptance. I. Title.
BF697.5.B63C367 2008
306.4’613--dc22
2008016271
With my heartfelt appreciation,
I dedicate this work to Natalie.
She is my true love, my best friend, and my wife.
She enhances each moment of my life,
as she will “forever and four days.”
Contents
Preface
Introduction: Taking Steps to a Better Body Image
Step 1: Discovering Your Personal Body Image
Step 2: Understanding the Origins of Your Body Image Story
Step 3: Mindfully Accepting Your Body Image Experiences
Step 4: Seeing Beneath the Surface of Your Private Body Talk
Step 5: Mindfully Modifying Your Mental Mistakes
Step 6: Facing Your Body Image Avoidance
Step 7: Erasing Your Body Image Rituals
Step 8: Treating Your Body Well>
Afterword: From This Day Forward: Preserving Your Positive Body Image for Life
Recommended Resources for Readers, Researchers, and Therapists
Bibliography
Preface
For thirty-five years, I have devoted my career to the psychology of physical appearance. The most inspiring aspects of my work have concerned body image and how to prevent and alleviate body image problems. At the core of my professional pursuits is psychological science, which I believe informs us about how best to change lives and ameliorate human suffering.
This book builds on its earlier versions, particularly the 1997 edition, by incorporating both scientific and clinical advances from the burgeoning literature on body image development, assessment, and treatment. Indeed, in 2004 I founded a new scholarly journal, Body Image: An International Journal of Research , which publishes excellent and informative work on body image and human appearance. This revised edition of The Body Image Workbook notably integrates the new and popular disciplines of mindfulness, acceptance, and expressive writing with well established, effective cognitive and behavioral procedures for body image change. My heartfelt wish is that this book will genuinely help readers develop a more satisfying and accepting relationship with their body and will aid the therapists who may be guiding them.
My career has been blessed by opportunities to work with wonderful students, both undergraduates and graduates. Over the years, some of my doctoral students and I have conducted and published research concerning the treatment of body image difficulties and disorders. I appreciate these meaningful collaborations with Jonathan Butters, Jill Grant, Danielle Lavallee, Melissa Strachan Kinser, Joshua Hrabosky, and Kristin Grasso.
I must also acknowledge three eminent psychologists who have given me immense inspiration and valued friendship for many years. Kevin Thompson, at the University of South Florida, is undoubtedly one of the most prolific body image researchers in the world. His excellent insights and investigations have contributed greatly to my knowledge and to the field. Tom Pruzinsky, at Quinnipiac University, is the most genuinely compassionate person I know. His efforts to understand and improve the quality of life among individuals with disfiguring physical conditions are widely respected and appreciated. At the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, David Sarwer is a brilliant scientist whose scholarship richly informs us about body image issues in obesity, cosmetic surgery, and dermatology. I have enjoyed the privilege of collaborating with him on several projects. I am very grateful to each of you, my friends.
In the preparation of this new edition, I profited greatly from the additional editorial eyes of Natalie Cash, Jonathan Rudiger, and Erin Engle. I appreciate their diligent feedback on the accuracy and clarity of my writing.
New Harbinger is an impressively supportive publisher that truly cares about its authors, its readers, and the publication of highly reputable products that benefit therapeutic practitioners and the public. I sincerely thank Kayla Sussell, Tesilya Hanauer, Jess Beebe, and Matt McKay for skillfully assisting me in making this new edition of The Body Image Workbook the best that it can be.
Introduction: Taking Steps to a Better Body Image
We all live embodied lives. Body image refers to how you personally experience your embodiment. More than a mental picture of what you look like, your body image consists of your personal relationship with your body—encompassing your perceptions, beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and actions that pertain to your physical appearance. In other words, body image is not a simple, singular thing. It is something quite complex and multifaceted. To get some idea of how complex this issue can be, ask yourself the following questions about your own body image: Are there aspects of your physical appearance that you really dislike? Do you think more about what you dislike about your looks than about what you like? Do you spend a lot of time worrying about what others think of your looks? Are your looks really important to you in determining your self-worth? Do the same old negative thoughts about your looks keep popping into your head and playing like a broken record? Do you avoid particular activities or situations because you feel physically self-conscious? Do you spend a lot of time, effort, or money attempting to “repair” your looks or trying to achieve physical perfection? Do you often rely on clothes or cosmetics to try to cover up the “flaws” in your appearance? Do you often search for the ultimate diet, the most effective body-shaping exercise, the right clothes, or the most flattering cosmetics or hairstyle? Do your feelings about your looks