Treating the Whole Person

A holistic treatment approach can help heal the body and mind.

[epic music]- Traditionally, psoriasis was treatedas a skin-only disease.There wasn't really many questions askedabout the impact of the diseaseon a patient's quality of life.[gentle music]- Dr. Butani's research focuseson improving quality of life for patientsby combining medication withpsychobehavioral support.- It's definitely somethingmy patients talk about all the time,that psychologic and emotional stressleads to worsening of their skin disease.So I try to take a comprehensiveapproach to each patientand find a combinationof pharmacologic therapy,such as topical therapy, light therapy,oral, and even injectable drugs.Biologics have really changedthe way that we treat psoriasis.They very selectively targetthe over-active immune pathwaysthat are leading toinflammation in the body.It's been great for somany of our patients.We have to treat the patient's skin,but we also have to break the cycleby treating the patient'smental health disorders.I love recommending totalbody wellness technicsand stress relief technics that might helpto improve the treatment of their skin.Mindfulness and meditation diet, exercise,sleep, and social connectedness.I definitely see thisholistic approach to psoriasisas helping patients havemore long-term remission and decreasein the number of flare-upsthat they might have in a year,They feel better about themselves,and their skin naturallyresponds better to their treatments.- We tend to think of psoriasisas just a skin condition,but it's much more than skin deep.When it comes to treating and healingthe effects of psoriasison the body and mind,it all starts with addressingthe profound impactmental health has onour physical well-being.The misinformation, stigma, and stressthat accompanies psoriasis canall contribute to flare-ups.We have to ask ourselves,how can patients have better conversationswith their loved ones anddoctors about their psoriasisin order to reduce stigmaand help them bettermanage their condition?How can doctors take a whole body approachto caring for theirpatients with psoriasis?How can we as friends,family, and bystanderspractice empathy andinclusion on a daily basis?If we start asking these questionsand we actually listen to the answers,and if we remember that wecan't talk about psoriasiswithout talking about mental health,we'll be that much closerto breaking the cycleof stress and psoriasis.