Abstract
This paper discusses psychotherapeutic approaches toward patients suffering from obesity. It is based on the authors'clinical practice in the field of internal medicine at a general hospital. In the practice of clinical psychology, it is important to cooperate with patients with obesity and collaborative treatment with a various related medical staff in addition to general internal treatments. First of all, the clinical psychologist needs to understand the patients'psychological difficulties. Implementation of the psychotherapeutic approaches were recommended for patients who had multiple psychological risk factors, suffering from depression and/or psychological distress, and also for adolescent patients. Various approaches such as individual psychotherapy, group therapy, and psychoeducation could be implemented and be based on the needs of patients and a medical staff. Furthermore, school-based psychoeducational programs for students to prevent obesity and promote better physical and mental health may be needed.
