Coaching
Hope and Healing Coach
As a behavior transformation coach at Hopeandhealingcoach.com, I help people quit unwanted habits, such as hair pulling, skin picking, stress eating, and more. Through my coaching program, Hack Your Habit: Your Guide To Freedom From Unwanted Habits, I teach strategies to any (and yes, I mean any!) unwanted behavior. This program includes a combination of one-on-one coaching sessions and between-session messaging to guide clients through my signature process to break free from the frustration and shame that's been holding them back. At the end of the program, clients walk away with a highly personalized Breakthrough Blueprint that walks them step-by-step through effective behavior change. Learn more here:
https://hopeandhealingcoach.com/work-with-me-1
Get my free guide, Try This Instead: Strategies to Overcome Unwanted Habits here:
https://hopeandhealingcoach.kit.com/335ecb9780
Websites
The TLC Foundation for Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors
- Loads of education, resources and tips to manage BFRBs
- Hosts a yearly conference for. sufferers, loved ones, and clinicians
- Search for a BFRB trained provider
- Formerly known as The Trichotillomania Learning Center, founded by Christina Pearson
Christina Pearson
- Offers BFRB impulse reduction classes
- Founded by Christina Pearson, a well-loved figure in the BFRB community
The BFRB Space
- Offers individual therapy, group therapy, and workshops
- Founded by Libby Gordon, LCSW
The Picking Me Foundation
- Advocacy and support for skin picking disorder
- Founded by Lauren McKeany
BFRB Dogs
- trains psychiatric service dogs to intervene in owner's picking/pulling behaviors
- Founded by Haley Sciola
Salon T
- Australia's only salon specializing in trichotillomania!
- Website blog features tons of helpful info about trich and alternative hair
- Founded by Zakdon Shadbolt
Social/Support
BFRB Change Collective
- Free social platform found on Mighty Networks
- Created By Aneela Kumar, founder of Habit Aware
Support groups
Fidget Podcast
- BFRB podcast Created by Jason Yu (with SPD) and Adele (with TTM)
- Some episodes feature guests
BFRB Podcast
- BFRB podcast Created by Jose Alvear and Ashley Robles
Books
Overcoming Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors
By Ruth Golomb, Charles Mansueto, Sherri Mansfield Vavrichek
- "A Comprehensive Behavioral Treatment for Hair Pulling and Skin Picking"
- Education for and step-by-step approach to manage BFRBs
- Written by multiple leading therapists in the field
The Hair Pulling Problem: A Complete Guide to Trichotillomania
By Fred Penzel, Ph.D.
- "A Complete Guide to Trichotillomania"
- Education for and step-by-step approach to manage BFRBs
The Freedom Companion To Stopping Hair Pulling
By Annette Pasternak, Ph.D.
- A daily check list of self-care activities
- Annette also wrote a Companion to Skin Picking and a parent book "Skin Picking: The Freedom to Finally Stop"
The Happiness Trap
By Russ Harris
- "How to Stop Struggling and Start Living: A guide to ACT"
- A well-respected guide on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook
By Matthew McKay
- "Practical DBT exercises for Learning Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotional Regulation & Distress Tolerance"
- A well-respected guide on Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
ADHD 2.0
By Edward Hallowell M.D. and John Ratey M.D
- "New Science and Essential Strategies For Thriving with Distraction - From Childhood Through Adulthood"
- Education and strategies to manage attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Sex, Drugs, Gambling, and Chocolate
By Thomas Horvath
- "A Workbook for Overcoming Addictions"
- While BFRBs are not considered an addiction, there are some similarities, so some strategies for treating addictive behaviors may be helpful for BFRBs
Fidgets & gadgets
Habit Aware
- Founder Aneela Kumar and her husband created Keen - a wearable habit trainer in the form of a bracelet (looks like a FitBit) that gently vibrates when your hand moves to pull
- Also offers coaching and support
Therapy Shoppe
- Huge selection of fidgets
Pick Palette
- Satisfying tool for pickers, good way to keep your hands busy for pullers
Treatments
Treatment Guidelines from BFRB.org
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- CBT is the most effective treatment for BFRBs we have at this time
- 2 types of CBT - Habit Reversal Training (HRT) and the Comprehensive Behavioral Model (ComB) - are especially helpful for treating BRRBs
- You can learn more by reading the book Overcoming Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (see above)
- More on therapy from BFRB.org
N-acetylcysteine (NAC)
- Shown in Jon Grant’s study to help about 50 % of people with trich
- You can buy over the counter without a prescription (but check with your doctor before starting any new medication or supplement)
- Typical recommendations are to start with 600 mg once or twice daily and slowly (each week) titrate until effective up to 1,200 mg three times daily (3,600 mg/day)
- Be patient - benefits may take up to 2-3 months to notice
Other treatments that may be helpful for trich
The following medications or supplements may be helpful, but studies are very limited or have inconsistent results:
- SSRIs (fluoxetine/Prozac, escitalopram/Lexapro, sertraline/Zoloft, etc.)
- naltrexone
- Atypical antipsychotics (olanzapine/Zyprexa, aripiprazole/Abilify)
- Inositol
- lithium carbonate
- bupropion HCl