The Essentials of Psychodermatology

Patients with psychocutaneous disease may present to multiple professionals to seek care. The multidimensional nature of the conditions can lead to specialists being fearful of how to properly manage patients. For example, a dermatologist may be unfamiliar and uncomfortable with acquiring sensitive psychosocial information and a psychiatrist may not know management protocols of wound care related to the patient’s condition. With the basic information provided in The Essentials of Psychodermatology, healthcare providers can increase their comfort and become less hesitant when making decisions in determining the proper treatment course and assessing the need for referral. 

 This book provides vital information for a multidisciplinary audience to spark collaboration, increased awareness, and ultimately, improved patient-care and will find audience with: Healthcare providers from multiple diverse fields such as, but not limited to, family medicine, dermatology, and psychiatry; Physicians, physician’s assistants, nurses, psychologists, and students with exposure to patients with psychocutaneous conditions and/or a special interest in the field; and Professors, educators, and researchers with an interest in psychodermatology or interdisciplinary medicine.

Dr. Mohammad Jafferany, is Clinical Associate Professor at Central Michigan University and Director Psychodermatology Clinic. He has combined training in Dermatology and Psychiatry. He is past president and current Executive Secretary of Association for Psychocutaneous Medicine of North America. He has more than 50 scholarly texts and publications to his credit on various psychodermatologic topics. He is the co-editor and author of books on Pediatric Psychodermatology, Geriatric Psychodermatology, Stress and skin disorders, Trichotillomania and has written numerous chapters on psychocutaneous disorders in many textbooks. He is current Deputy Editor-in-Chief of journal Dermatologic Therapy. He has conducted International Psychodermatology workshops in different parts of the world and has taught Psychodermatology to residents and young dermatologists in different countries around the world. He is a researcher, writer, lecturer and invited speaker in various national and international conferences on Psychodermatology around the world. He is the member of the Taskforce on International Psychodermatology Diploma. Psychiatric aspects of hair disease and skin picking are his areas of interest and expertise. His current focus is on World Psychodermatology Association

Dr. Bárbara Roque Ferreira is a specialist in Dermatology, doing her clinical work in the Department of Dermatology, Centre Hospitalier de Mouscron, Belgium & Eurometropolis Lille - Kortrijk – Tournai, and she is an integrated member of the Centre for Philosophy of Science of the University of Lisbon, Portugal, concerning her interest in philosophy of mind.

During her medical residency in Dermatology, she has developed important clinical and scientific work in psychodermatology, being the first Portuguese physician who has implemented an organized psychodermatology consultation in Portugal. She has completed, with excellence, a master thesis, in the field of neuropsychiatry, at the university of Coimbra, and the Mind and Skin Postgraduate course, at the University of Hertfordshire, England. She co-oriented a master thesis, in psychodermatology, at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and she completed clinical internships in psychodermatology, in France and in Spain, in 2018. She has published a book on philosophy and science, chapters for relevant international books in psychodermatology and several papers, mostly in psychodermatology, in indexed journals. She has been invited to international meetings, as a speaker in psychodermatology, and has collaborated with international studies in this field of research and the Psychodermatology Task Force. 

Mr.  Arsh Patel is a medical student at Wake Forest School of Medicine. He is a research assistant at the Psychodermatology clinic at Jafferany Psychiatric Services and JPS Psychological Services. He attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor for his undergraduate studies and earned a B.S. with a dual-concentration in Biomolecualar Science and Drama. He completed his M.S. in Biomedical science at Wake Forest Graduate School. He has an interest in psychocutaneous medicine, integrative medicine, and the arts in healthcare. He is a student researcher involved in many interdisciplinary projects and is a presenter at various national conferences and symposia. He is a co-author in publications involving psychodermatologic conditions like skin picking disease and trichotillomania.