Psychopharmacology in dermatology: Five common disorders

Abstract

Dermatologists often encounter a patient who presents with an illness that overlaps both psychiatric and dermatologic specialties. Psychodermatology patients range from straightforward (ie, trichotillomania, onychophagia, excoriation disorder) to challenging (ie, body dysmorphic disorder) to highly challenging (ie, delusions of parasitosis). Many refuse to see psychiatrists. As such, the only chance that many of these patients will receive treatment is if the dermatologist is willing to prescribe psychiatric medications to them. We review five common psychodermatologic disorders and how to treat them. We discuss some commonly prescribed psychiatric medications and provide the busy dermatologist with a few psychiatric tools in the dermatologic toolbox.