Overview

The Medical Board of Australia (MBA) and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) recently announced new practice guidelines for people undertaking cosmetic surgery and non-surgical cosmetic procedures. These reforms apply to doctors practising in comestic surgery and non-surgical cosmetic procedures.

Cosmetic practitioners will now be required to screen their patients for underlying psychological issues, such as Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and refer them for further assessment to a psychologist, psychiatrist or general practitoner (GP) prior to undertaking any cosmetic procedures.

Although, Cosmetic practitioners are largely welcoming of these guidelines, there is some concern about the lack of suitably qualified health professionals to conduct these psychological assessments.

This webinar aims to equip psychologists and other health professionals, with the background knowledge and framework to undertake the assessment of patients who will be undergoing cosmetic procedures. It will include an overview of the current Australian Psychological Society (APS) Guidelines, in addition to clinical case examples where this process has been implemented effectively.

Level of Learning

Foundational. This activity is targeted to those new to the topic.

Duration of access

Access to the recording and presenter slides is for 12 months from the date of confirmed registration.

APS CPD-Approved

This activity has been assessed against the APS Standards for CPD activities and approved for its education quality. Learn more about the APS CPD Approval process.

CPD Frequently Asked Questions

Refer to the APS CPD Frequently Asked Questions for general and technical information when undertaking APS Professional development activities.

Activity details 

• On-demand webinar recording 

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this on-demand activity, participants should be able to:

• interpret the relevant AHPRA guidelines for cosmetic surgery and patient screening,

• describe the psychological conditions and factors which impact patients requesting cosmetic surgery, and

• implement a psychological evaluation of a patient requesting cosmetic treatment, in accordance with APS Guidelines

Presenter(s)

Toni Pikoos MAPS

About the presenter(s)

Dr Toni Pikoos, Clinical Psychologist and postdoctoral researcher is a leading expert in the intersection of psychology and cosmetics, after conducting her PhD in the field.
She provided psychological consultation to AHPRA as part of their review in the cosmetic industry, and played an instrumental role in the development of these new screening guidelines.
Toni has also provided consultation and training to many cosmetic practitioners about how to implement these new guidelines in their practice.