The Role of Body Image in Pediatric Illness: Therapeutic Challenges and Opportunities

The body image is the individual’s mental representation of his own body, a representation that encompasses both perceptual and ideational components. In this paper I will explore the concept of body image, its development and its relationship to self-image and object relations in children with chronic medical illness. From this discussion and with the help of specific cases of medically ill children I have treated for a variety of psychological symptoms, I will recommend an approach to the assessment and treatment of this challenging group of patients.