Scoliosis and psychological support by Elisabetta D'Agata

I met our guest of honor today at the 'Treating Scoliosis for Parents and Children' event organized by the Brazilian Scoliosis Treatment Association (ABTE), where she gave a very interesting lecture on the importance of psychological support for parents and patients with this deformity. With great charisma and competence, she addressed the topic in a highly professional manner. So, I invited the Italian Elisabetta D'Agata, Ph.D. in psychology of scoliosis patients and body therapist, to discuss the emotions of teenagers and their parents on this journey of the twisted spine. Check out the full interview below:

1- As a psychologist focused on scoliosis, what do you think is teenagers' biggest challenge when they discover scoliosis?

I think that the discovery of scoliosis is a familiar challenge, first of all. The way the parents cope with this new information can have an incredible effect on the lives of the young patients: if the anxiety, the fear, and the confusion are overwhelming in adults, the teens can use many defense mechanisms to protect themselves like disconnecting from reality, tiredness, being sleepy, etc. So, in the end, I believe that the big challenge is to manage the fear of the progression of scoliosis and of the treatments related.

2- What is the importance of accepting scoliosis for the patient's mental health?

This is a great question, thank you! I think that it is valid for both kinds of patients: teens as well as adults. If they are able to accept scoliosis, they will not fight against it but they can take care of their scoliosis and spine with self-compassion. This signifies a difference between two types of patients: the ones who do the treatment because of fear, anger, because a doctor says, and the ones who follow the treatment because they want to heal, to take care, to love themselves. I understand that this second attitude can be very difficult for teens but I also consider that we as adults have a great responsibility to transmit the right message, in the words we use, the tools we have to reduce anxiety or to activate their involvement in the therapy.

3- Is brace use still a big issue for teenagers with scoliosis?

Yes, it is. Although we have lighter braces and colored braces, in comparison to the past, the community of teens is more strictly demanding in establishing unwritten dress codes, and this represents a way to belong or not to the group. We know that being isolated is really painful for teens. Furthermore, isolated teens risk losing all the experience and knowledge they need to pass from childhood to adulthood.

4- How does psychological support help teenagers use the brace on a daily basis?

Through the right support, teens can learn how to convert scoliosis and its treatment into a challenge they have resources to manage and not as a stress that is too much for them. Furthermore, they can learn that scoliosis is just a part of them and not the whole person. In this way, they can find adequate time to treat scoliosis without forgetting the other areas of their lives.

5- And the support of parents and relatives, how much does it help to cope with scoliosis?

As I said before, If parents receive the right support they can transmit that the situation is under control, and in this way all the family system can support the teens in the treatment with strength, focus, intention, and optimism.

6- Please leave a final message for our readers with your view on the relationship between psychotherapy and scoliosis treatment.

I believe that to treat a person with scoliosis we have to consider all the components of the body-mind perspective. I received often this question: Is necessary psychotherapy for all patients with scoliosis? I consider that a psychologist, a therapist has to be present, has to be near these patients, and for each case, the professional will be able to decide if there is a need or not, and also if the patient wants deeply to work in this sense or not. The more resources we will offer to our patients, the more they will be able to cope with scoliosis and thrive in their lives.

Dra. Elisabetta D´Agata

Thank you very much, Dr. Elisabetta, for bringing so much insight to our readers! To learn more about her, you can visit her website at www.psychologyforscoliosis.com .