Features of Trichotillomania Therapy Clinic

People with trichotillomania feel shame, embarrassment, and distress when they pull their hair. They may also experience problems with work, school, and relationships because of their disorder. Some professionals believe that trichotillomania is under-reported because …

Features of Trichotillomania Therapy Clinic

People with trichotillomania feel shame, embarrassment, and distress when they pull their hair. They may also experience problems with work, school, and relationships because of their disorder.

Some professionals believe that trichotillomania is under-reported because people with this condition are often embarrassed or ashamed to speak about it. However, if you are committed to getting better, there are many options for treatment.

Treatment Types

Trichotillomania is a chronic and debilitating condition that can cause significant distress, embarrassment, depression, and low self-esteem. People with TTM may pull their eyelashes, eyebrows, armpits, legs, chest, or pubic area.

Some people also engage in compulsive rituals with pulled hair (trichophagia), such as chewing, biting, or playing with the hair. Others attempt to cover bald areas or hair loss using hats, scarves, and wigs.

Trichotillomania is categorized as an obsessive-compulsive related disorder and frequently occurs alongside other mental health conditions like Tourette syndrome, body dysmorphic disorder, anxiety, or mood disorders. Research suggests that a person’s genetic makeup, environment, and stressors play a role in the development of the condition.

Treatment for trichotillomania includes cognitive behavioral approaches, including habit reversal therapy and stimulus control procedures. The treatment plan is tailored to each individual to meet their specific needs. Some patients are also treated with medications such as fluoxetine, and limited evidence shows that N-acetylcysteine may be effective.

Referrals

Whether it’s hair pulling in trichotillomania, gambling in compulsive gambling, or repetitive cruising for sex in compulsive sexuality, impulse control disorders are painful and debilitating. They can cause anxiety, depression, strained relationships, and social isolation. They can also affect a person’s self-esteem and quality of life.

While there are similarities between trichotillomania and other impulse control disorders (including obsessive-compulsive disorder), the conditions are different. OCD involves obsessions, such as an irrational fear of contamination from shaking hands, but trichotillomania does not involve these thoughts.

It’s important to rule out underlying medical causes, including skin conditions like psoriasis or eczema, as these can trigger similar urges. If such a cause is found, a psychiatric evaluation may be needed.

The therapist at the Kairos Wellness Collective can refer you to a qualified psychiatrist in our area. A standard treatment approach is to use Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in conjunction with medication. The goal is to help the person recognize and manage the impulses that lead to the behavior.

Treatment Approaches

Trichotillomania (TTM) is a disorder where the person has an uncontrollable urge to pull out their hair, leading to noticeable and distressing hair loss. It is a chronic condition that often affects people of all ages and may be accompanied by other symptoms such as skin picking, nail-biting, or body twitching. Treatment approaches typically include cognitive behavioral therapy and medication.

TTM can be diagnosed using the semi-structured NIMH Trichotillomania Diagnostic Interview, comparable to the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. A trained clinician administers the TDI to determine the presence and severity of TTM.

Research has shown that combining cognitive-behavioral therapies and medications effectively treat TTM. CBT teaches patients how to recognize triggers and urges, identify distorted thoughts, and learn to replace them with more realistic and functional ones.

Medications can reduce the severity of the impulses and decrease the intensity of the behavior. The goal of comprehensive behavioral treatment is to change the function of unwanted behaviors, such as creating sensory substitutes and limiting access to environments where pulling tends to occur.

Evaluation

Trichotillomania is a type of Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior (BFRB). The root cause is not yet identified, but it frequently accompanies other mental conditions like anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

People with trichotillomania often report that their behaviors cause distress and functional impairment. To be formally diagnosed with trichotillomania, individuals must endorse distress or functional impairment and have made repeated attempts to decrease their hair-pulling behaviors.

It is also essential to rule out other conditions that can cause similar behaviors, such as anxiety, depression, or addictions. Previously, studies have shown that those with trichotillomania who eat their hair have higher levels of MGH Hair Pulling Scale severity and more significant psychosocial impairment.

Leave a Comment