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Beauty is a concept much sought after in many cultures. It is a complex phenomenon based on many factors. Intrapersonal and interpersonal dynamics can play a major role in society's determination of what is considered beautiful (Lemma, 2010). Aspects of beauty are so pervasive in today's society and even subtle messages can have a major impact on an individual's sense of beauty. Society is becoming increasingly concerned with mechanisms to obtain or improve beauty, such as beauty enhancements, body modification and adornment, fashion, and psychotherapy. The significant role that beauty attainment plays in society can be reflected in how profitable it has become as an industry.
Beauty enhancement is often desired within psychotherapy; however, it is not always explicitly described as so. Individuals seeking psychotherapy are often viewed as seeking self-exploration but are less frequently viewed as obtaining it as a method of beauty attainment. Often, a patient's beauty enhancement interventions obtained outside of psychotherapy are dismissed unless the patient's behaviors are dysfunctional or significantly affects their self-esteem. Activities such as shaving or ear piercing can often go ignored, potentially because it is such an assumed practice of society. Assumed or not, these activities (or lack of) can provide insight into how an individual formulates his or her own sense of beauty. What can be a significant theme in psychotherapy could be the process of an individual's definition of beauty, defined both by themselves and others.
The Psychology of Beauty: Creation of a Beautiful Self by Ellen Sinkman explores the search for beauty by utilizing mythology and clinical case work. She provides evidence of the fact that beauty is often ignored in psychotherapy but also illuminates the value it can provide if explored. In her book she provides the reader with many areas of exploration involving beauty that can be processed within psychotherapy. Sinkman begins by introd