Aspects of comprehensive treatment for adolescents with acne vulgaris from the perspective of psychological counseling

This article discusses the manifestations of the adolescence crisis in patients with acne vulgaris, using a four-level personality model (biological, psychological, social, and spiritual levels). On the one hand, the adolescence crisis can trigger acne vulgaris in case of a genetic predisposition; on the other hand, acne can aggravate the process of experiencing the adolescence crisis. The authors suggest the use of psychological counseling (relaxation techniques, methods of rational psychotherapy, etc.) within the dermatological care for adolescent patients with mild and moderate acne vulgaris. The authors present the results of a study of the efficacy of comprehensive therapy (including psychological counseling) in adolescent patients with mild-to-moderate acne vulgaris, compared with traditional dermatotropic therapy. Statistically significant differences between two groups were revealed in the changes in the indicators of the mental condition presentation (r = -0.90; p < 0.05), the dermatological index of acne (DIA) (r = -0.34; p < 0.05), and indicators of quality of life (r = -0.72 and r = -0.68. according to the questionnaires of the Dermatology Life Quality Index and Skindex-29, resp.; p < 0.05). Simultaneous improvement in the psychoemotional status was correlated with positive cutaneous changes, as evidenced by the direct rather than pronounced statistically significant relationship between the indices of the experience scale and the ADI index (r = 0.52; p <  0.05). The obtained results show that the use of psychological counseling in the comprehensive treatment for adolescents with mild-to-moderate acne vulgaris is more effective compared with the traditional dermatotropic therapy.