As pharmacotherapy becomes a central tool in obesity management, clinicians are encountering a complex challenge: patients who experience medical improvements but remain distressed about their bodies. This session explores the nuanced relationship between body image dissatisfaction and obesity treatment, asking whether current clinical approaches help heal—or inadvertently harm—patients’ sense of self. We’ll explore how body dissatisfaction can persist or even intensify after weight loss, especially when patients have internalized harmful societal ideals. We'll also examine how clinicians may unintentionally reinforce weight stigma when treatment goals are primarily appearance-focused.

Using real-world clinical cases and lived experience narratives, the session will provide practical tools to support both physical and emotional wellbeing. Teaching will be grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) frameworks, emphasizing psychological flexibility, values-based goal setting, and identity resilience. Attendees will leave better equipped to support patients who seek weight loss while also navigating the emotional complexities of body image, identity, and self-acceptance.

CME/CE Expiration Date: 4/12/29

*The expiration date listed above is the last day CME/CE credit can be claimed for this specific presentation.