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16 - Comprehensive Behavioral Treatment for Trichotillomania (Hair Pulling Disorder) and Excoriation (Skin Picking) Disorder

from Part Three - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Associated Disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2022

By
Charles S. Mansueto
Edited by
Gillian Todd  and
Rhena Branch
Gillian Todd
Affiliation:
University of East Anglia
Rhena Branch
Affiliation:
University of East Anglia
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Summary

Both hair pulling disorder (trichotillomania) and skin picking disorder (excoriation disorder) are legitimate clinical disorders that are neither rare nor benign. For almost half a century, habit reversal training (HRT) has dominated the clinical literature as treatment for these body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs), yet clinicians and researchers have recognized the limitations of this treatment and have utilized numerous treatment modifications in attempts to bolster its effectiveness. Comprehensive behavioral (ComB) treatment, a newer approach to BFRB treatment, has been described in professional publications and is widely used by expert BFRB clinicians The ComB treatment model provides a guiding, comprehensive, conceptual framework that encompasses and integrates sensory, cognitive, affective, motor, and environmental variables into an individualized treatment package geared to the unique clinical phenomenology of each patient. In this chapter, ComB treatment is described in detail and an illustrative case highlights its unique advantages over other BFRB treatments.

Keywords

trichotillomaniaexcoriation disorderhair pulling disorderskin picking disorderbody-focused repetitive behaviorscomprehensive behavioral treatment for BFRBsComB treatment
Type
Chapter
Information
Evidence-Based Treatment for Anxiety Disorders and Depression
A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Compendium
 , pp. 316 - 340
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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