Metacognitive therapy for body dysmorphic disorder patients in Iran: acceptability and proof of concept

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of metacognitive therapy (MCT) on symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and on symptoms of thought-fusion, by means of a wait-list controlled clinical trial. Participants were referred from dermatology and cosmetic surgery clinics in the city of Isfahan, Iran, and 20 patients were selected on the basis of DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for BDD. They were randomly assigned to either the experimental or the wait-list control group. The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Modified for Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD-YBOCS) and the Thought-Fusion Inventory (TFI) were used as the outcome measures. The experimental group received 8 weekly metacognitive intervention sessions. The control group was in the waiting-list until the end of the follow-up. Measures were taken at pre-test, post-test (after 2 months) and follow-up (after 6-months). The results of analysis of variance showed that MCT significantly reduced the symptoms of BDD and of thought-fusion, compared to the wait-list. Effects on both outcome measures were maintained at 6-months follow-up.