Blogs

Liz Atkin, a visual artist from the UK, contacted us a few days ago. She told us about her new exhibition, at the center of which is her experience with the skin picking disorder.

There's a short but rather interesting interview with Liz that took place a few days ago on the Woman's Hour radio show on BBC Radio 4. She talks about the way her art is influenced by compulsive picking, and on the other hand, how her art helps her to deal with the disorder. You can listen to the 8 min interview here

If you happen to be in the London area, you might be interested in visiting Liz's exhibition, which takes place at the Bethlem Gallery until the 15th of March. More details about the exhibition can be found on this Bethlem Blog Post.

Question: I've heard that hypnosis can be quite useful for controlling picking. I don't know much about it but would like to learn more. Can you suggest some information on the real science so I can go beyond the cliches like swinging watches and people clucking like chickens?

Answer: Even many otherwise well-trained mental health practitioners know very little about the research and practice of hypnosis. There is an excellent review article from SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN which I give to new patients. This is a great place to start.

You can read it at: http://grossbart.com/sciam-1.pdf

I stumbled upon a new documentary in progress, called "Trichster", by director Jillian Corsie. It focuses mainly on Trich, and a bit on dermatillomania, judging by the trailer:

Towards the end of the production, the crew, together with 7 of the subjects of the film, are planning to attend the Trichotillomania Learning Center Conference in New York. You can help them attain this plan by donating here.

Planned release date is spring 2014.

Got an email from Angie about the Scars of Shame documentary, which we first wrote about almost two years ago.

To those of you who are not familiar with "Scars of Shame" - this is a documentary on skin picking by Lisa Heyden. This film is about a 24 year old Angie (Angela Hartlin) who suffers from skin picking.

After a long hiatus due to funding difficulties, production is now back on track, with the film being in last editing stages. Angie tells me that the expected release date is March 2013, which is great news.

Skin picking is still not official

Believe it or not, Skin Picking is still not considered as an "official" disorder. The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), is the “bible” of mental health professionals. It is published by the American Psychiatric Association, and is used to classify and diagnose mental disorders. Yet the Skin Picking disorder is not listed in the current version of the manual (DSM-4).

How you can help to make it official

The good news are that a new version, DSM-5, which is going to be published in 2013, might include Skin Picking as a disorder. The draft of DSM-5 lists skin picking under “Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders”. However, there’s still risk that it will be removed in the final version.

The draft of DSM-5 is opened for public comments until June 15th 2012. In order to make sure Skin Picking disorder makes it to the final version of the manual, you can do the following:

• Goto to http://dsm5.org
• Sign up for a username, and login
• Go to the Skin Picking page: http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevision/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=401
• Under the “Proposed Revision” tab, express your support for the proposed revision using the comment box at bottom of page.

Why is it important?

The DSM-5 publication is considered an event of huge importance in the mental health field. The last major revision was the fourth edition (DSM-4), published in 1994. If everyone makes a tiny effort of expressing support for the current draft regarding skin picking, it’ll help the disorder entering the new DSM-5, which will have a huge impact on the awareness of the disorder among mental health professionals and researchers. Let’s help make it happen!

We got an email from William Michael Davidson. He's a father of a girl who has Trichotillomania. He wrote a book called "The Dragon Who Pulled Her Scales". It a children's book telling a tale of a girl dragon who has a secret...

Long ago, in a world where dragons were the world's protectors, a beautiful dragon named Ellam lived in a cool, misty cave. Although Ellam liked to have fun with her friends, she had a secret. She liked to pull out her scales. Ellam was always careful to cover her body--she didn't want anyone to see that she was missing her scales. That is, until one day when Everwynn, the great king of dragons, needed someone for a special mission. Someone without scales.

Join Ellam on her exciting journey as she discovers that everyone's wounds have purpose, and the storms we travel through are part of a greater plan.

It was real heart warming to get the message from William about this book. I hope it will be a source of hope and encouragement for both kids and adults who struggle with trichotillomania or skin-picking.

You can get the book on Amazon.

And here's the facebook page of the book.

Our counseling service for skin picking patients has grown in popularity this year, partly due to the fact that people are becoming more aware of their problem and the options to treat it, and partly due to Dr. Ted Grossbart, who's a worldwide known expert at treating Dermatillomania, who leads our counseling program.

Due to several changes that occurred recently in our practice, we decided to alter our counseling price. From Dec 1st, 2011, the price per session of the counseling goes up from $180 to $210.

If you want to enjoy the previous price of $180/session, you can do that by enrolling prior to December 1st, 2011. Note that you will pay the lower price even for sessions that occur after Dec 1st, provided that you enrolled prior to Dec 1st.

ENROLL NOW >>

QUESTION: I have recently discovered that Dermatillomania exists through recent conversations with my friends. After some research, I realize that I have several of the symptoms, such as acne picking, scratching at the skin around my nails, lip biting, continuously picking at scabs, and a few other of the characteristics. My question is this: at what point does it become a serious condition? I understand that is serious at all times, but at what point should a professional be sought out for help? Until I heard about this, I thought that everyone picked at their face and nails, so I am unsure at what point it becomes severe.

ANSWER: This is a frequent question, a fair question to ask, but one that is very hard to answer. Some people come to see me with very moderate levels of picking. Others have delayed until they have needed hospitalization or a partner has practically hit them over the head with a 2X4.

My hunch is that anyone who is asking the question or surfing forums and websites is bothered enough to be a good candidate for professional help. One thing that can get in the way of getting help is shame or feeling that it is your fault. Don't be surprised if these feelings come up, but don't let them get in the way.

Ted A. Grossbart, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

To schedule counseling with Dr. Ted Grossbart ->Click Here
To ask Dr. Grossbart a question ->Click Here

QUESTION: Can a person be a skin picking inside of the ears? For some time now, every now again I pick and scratch my ears, inside the crevases until the point they bleed.

ANSWER: Picking is picking regardless of where. It can happen at any area.

Sometimes the choice of area is a good clue, other times not. A woman who was frightened of relationships picked her breasts and pubic area for instance. Other times it can just be where the person had a mosquito bite, or acne. One person whose father did really sadistic and destructive ear cleaning. kept picking their ears themselves.

Treatment is similar regardless of area: barriers and substitutes, feeling things in your heart so you don't have to feel it in your skin, and hypnosis and self-hypnosis.

Ted A. Grossbart, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

To schedule counseling with Dr. Ted Grossbart ->Click Here
To ask Dr. Grossbart a question ->Click Here

QUESTION: I'm a sixteen year old who has been picking at my acne ever since I can remember. I pop any pimple or black head I feel or see until it bleeds, and then usually end up picking off the scab that forms on it. I pick at the skin on my lips with my teeth or fingers when it gets chapped, too, as well as picking bumps on my back occasionally. I'm really too nervous to talk to my parents about it because a lot is going on because my mom has just had surgery. I can't tell if what I do is dermatillomania or whether I'm just a whiney teenager with mild acne. Could you please tell me if I need to seek help, and if so where to go? Thank you so much!

ANSWER: I think it is important to get help. You can start with sites like this one, trich.org, and grossbart.com to get support and information. Then you need to approach your parents and let them know that this is really bothering you and put your heads together on how to get help. This site and trich.org have list of local therapists who know the problem.

If there is no one local treatment is available by phone or Skype.

Ted A. Grossbart, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

To schedule counseling with Dr. Ted Grossbart ->Click Here
To ask Dr. Grossbart a question ->Click Here