PLASTIC SURGERY
Ah, August. Vacation time. The month when New York shrinks cancel their therapy sessions, pack a suitcase, and head off to . . . their local plastic surgeon.
Are face lifts and eyelid tucks the trend du jour among psychologists and psychiatrists? New York plastic surgeon Gerald Imber, M.D., reports that over one stretch last summer, 17 of his 23 surgical patients were mental health professionals. Overall they account for one sixth of his patients.
Though many therapists go under the knife for personal reasons, there are professional advantages to plastic surgery. When you face clients one on one all day, you want to look your best, notes Imber, a professor at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. "I think that it gives them greater self-confidence."
Even so, Imber says that shrinks generally have more realistic expectations about their postsurgical future than do most of his patients. "These are sane people. There's no dreaming about how this is going to transform their lives."
