Psoriasis: Targets and Therapy

PsoPsych: Insights on Psychological Processes, Health and Support in People with Psoriatic Disease

Psoriasis: Targets and Therapy, in conjunction with Guest Advisor Dr. Rachael Hewitt, is pleased to announce a new Article Collection dedicated to furthering our understanding of PsoPsych.

It is widely recognized that psoriasis is ‘more than just skin deep’, with a growing body of evidence supporting the link between psoriatic conditions and mental health. We know there is a bi-directional relationship between psoriasis, related co-morbidities, and common psychological conditions, such as depression and anxiety, due to shared inflammatory pathways. Psychological processes (thoughts, feelings and behaviours) play a key role in the clinical and patient self- management of psoriasis.

Over recent decades, there have been calls to increase the provision of specialist psychological support within dermatology settings and dedicated psychodermatology services to help people to cope with, and overcome, psychological and psychiatric challenges associated with psoriatic disease. However, societal, organizational, service and individual barriers exist, meaning progress is slow. Concerted efforts by policy makers, dermatology and other health organisations, clinicians, researchers and industry partners are needed to deliver the support people need to live well with psoriatic conditions.

This Article Collection focuses on the latest research addressing psychological impact, health and support in people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. It is important to expand our understanding of:

• The psychological burden of psoriatic conditions and related co-morbidities.
• The interplay between psychological and physiological mechanisms in PsO/A.
• The challenges, and solutions to, managing the psychological aspects of these conditions, from the perspective of different dermatology stakeholders.
• Existing sources of psychological support.
• New and existing interventions designed to improve psychological outcomes.
• Patients’ psychological support needs and preferences.

This will continue efforts to raise awareness of this topic within the field of dermatology, identify knowledge gaps and new avenues for research, and strategies and approaches for supporting patients.

We encourage submissions of quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods research involving people living with psoriatic disease anywhere in the world. We particularly encourage submissions that:

1. Build on current understanding of the psychological impact, and specifically those that identify, test and implement strategies to help patients/families/clinicians to mitigate and manage this impact.
2. Focus on the development, evaluation and implementation of psychological interventions delivered via a range of mediums, and how interventions bring about change. We particularly encourage submissions on health behaviour change/interventions given that support of this kind is typically generic or lacking within health services.
3. Report on existing mental health support within dermatology, including, but not limited to, counselling, psychology, psychiatry and specialist psychodermatology provision. Of interest are examples of multi- and inter- disciplinary working.
4. Explore patient peer and social support networks (in person or online), especially the arguably underrecognized role of patient organizations in supporting people with psoriasis.
5. Enhance our knowledge of pharmacological treatments for people with psoriatic disease and comorbid psychological/psychiatric illness.
6. Highlight epidemiological trends in mental/psychiatric diagnoses in psoriatic patients.

Keywords: Psoriasis; Psoriatic arthritis; Mental health; Psychological support; Psychodermatology

­­All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisor for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 1st June 2026.

Please contact the Commissioning Editor Ashley Ambros with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.

Meet the Guest Advisor

Dr. Rachael Hewitt is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate and Trainee Health Psychologist at Cardiff University with expertise in patient-practitioner communication, health behaviour change, complex intervention development and supporting patient self-management. She leads applied psychology and interdisciplinary research within the field of medical dermatology, especially psoriasis, and previously co-led the wellbeing arm of a specialist clinic for psoriatic disease within the Welsh Institute of Dermatology. Rachael led the national implementation of PsoWell™, training dermatology staff in Motivational Interviewing (MI) to address the psychological aspects of psoriasis and continues to deliver MI training internationally. Her research also explores clinicians’ personal models of psoriasis and patient-reported outcome measure development. She has authored 21 peer-reviewed publications, secured over £350,000 in research funding, and her work has been recognized internationally, including a Rising Star Scholarship award to present at the 25th World Congress of Dermatology.