Can psychotherapy treat skin ailments?

According to experts, an array of psychological treatments like meditation could help alleviate the physical symptoms of skin diseases.

Relaxation sessions, meditation, cognitive behaviour therapy, etc. were some of the techniques that proved useful in treating people suffering from psoriasis, eczema, acne and vitiligo.

It's always been believed that conditions like stress and depression are linked to various ailments but this is the first time that a scientific study actually proves this. Termed psychodermatology by experts, it could provide a new way to skin ailments.

"It has long been accepted that psychological interventions can help patients deal with the emotional impact of their skin diseases," said Deborah Mason of the British Association of Dermatologists. "But for the first time, this shows that they can also improve the physical symptoms," Mason said.

The findings on more than 900 participants in 22 studies, researchers noted that psychological therapies aimed at reversing bad habits had the largest effect, particularly helping patients modify behaviour to deal with itching and scratching. They found that cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), which works on changing negative thought patterns, also had a sizeable effect on symptoms.

However, the experts found that psychological intervention was less effective the older a patient was, underlining the need for medical staff to tailor therapies when treating older sufferers. The psychologists `meta-analysis` also discovered that group therapy appeared to be as effective as one-to-one treatment, but they said timely follow-up `booster sessions` may be needed to cement early improvements in symptoms.

The study was published in the British Journal of Dermatology.