Overcoming Body-focused Repetitive Behaviors: A Comprehensive Behavioral Treatment for Hair Pulling and Skin Picking

Struggling with hair pulling or skin picking? Evidence-based help for body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) is here.

“The definitive guide for those who pick or pull.”
―Reid Wilson, PhD, author Stopping the Noise in Your Head

If you live with trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder) or dermatillomania (skin picking disorder), you may feel ashamed, frustrated, or stuck in cycles you can’t seem to break. Body-focused repetitive behaviors often intensify with stress, anxiety, boredom, or sensory triggers―but they are treatable.

In this comprehensive, CBT-based guide, three leading clinicians present a structured treatment plan to help you reduce urges, interrupt patterns, and regain control.

In this book, you’ll learn how to:

• Identify the psychological and sensory triggers behind hair pulling and skin picking
• Understand the patterns that maintain body-focused repetitive behaviors
• Reduce urges using proven cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques
• Manage stress, anxiety, and emotional triggers more effectively
• Create a personalized action plan for long-term recovery
• Build sustainable skills to prevent relapse

Through guided exercises and step-by-step tools, you’ll gain practical strategies to break free from BFRBs―without shame or self-blame.

With time, practice, and evidence-based support, you can overcome body-focused repetitive behaviors and feel more confident and in control of your life.
 

Charles S. Mansueto, PhD, is founder and director of the Behavior Therapy Center of Greater Washington, a leading center for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. He has over thirty-five years of experience providing cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for a broad range of clinical problems. He has written extensively and presented nationally and internationally on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disorders. He is past president and currently serves as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors. He is also a member of the Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF); and of OCD Mid-Atlantic, an IOCDF affiliate. He retired as a tenured professor of psychology after thirty-six years in the University System of Maryland.

Sherrie Mansfield Vavrichek, LCSW-C, is a senior clinician at the Behavior Therapy Center of Greater Washington. She specializes in CBT for body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB) and a wide range of clinical problems. She integrates mindfulness, meditation, and Buddhist philosophy in her CBT practice and in her life. She is author of The Guide to Compassionate Assertiveness, and coauthor of The Hair Pulling “Habit” and You. She has presented at national conferences on numerous mental health topics, including compassionate assertiveness.

Ruth Goldfinger Golomb, LCPC, is a senior clinician with the Behavior Therapy Center of Greater Washington. She has specialized in providing CBT for people with a wide range of clinical disorders since the mid-eighties. She is a member of The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors Scientific Advisory Board. She regularly presents at professional workshops, meetings, and conferences. She is coauthor of The Hair Pulling “Habit” and You, Stay Out of My Hair, and Psychological Interventions for Children with Sensory Dysregulation.

Foreword writer Jennifer Raikes is executive director of The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors. She grew up with trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder), and is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose film, Bad Hair Life, aired on public television.