David's blog

Until now, the communication with the counselor on our counseling program was email based. Meaning each bi-directional email between client and patient was regarded as a session.

As from this month, the primary method of communication with the counselor is Live Chat based. Meaning that you'll interact with the counselor in real time.

Each session lasts 60 minutes. The standard counseling program is comprised of 10 such sessions, with supplemental packages of 5 sessions to those who finished the main program and wish to continue.

For more info, click here.

Recently I had an email correspondence with Dr. Grossbart, whom I know since he agreed to give an interview on the topic of Dermatillomania for SkinPick.

He let me know that he recently written some blog posts on Psychology Today. I really appreciate Dr. Grossbart and his approach for the treatment of skin problems. You can find his blog here. Although he writes about treating skin problems in general, and not necessarily about Dermatillomania, he devotes major part of his practice to helping skin picking and trich patients.

Angela Hartlin, the author of "Forever Marked", recently gave a TV interview:

Not sure whether you have Dermatillomania or not?

Ask the OCD center of Los Angeles. Their new free service promises to answer the sometimes subtle question of "do I have Dermatillomania?"

All you have to do is answer some simple questions online, and they promise to give you an answer by email. Of course this is not a substitute to thorough evaluation by a professional.

Take the OCDLA skin picking test.

The Behavior Therapy and Research Laboratory, under the direction of Douglas Woods, Ph.D., at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is conducting a survey regarding the social and economic impact of chronic skin picking (CSP).

This is by far the most comprehensive survey on subject of CSP I've ever encountered. It takes about an hour to complete.

If you're suffering from csp, you can help by participating in this survey. It's totally secure and anonymous. Click here for the survey.

Our online therapy service is officially a success. More and more people are joining, and we often come to a situation were we cannot handle all the demand (as happened last July).

Dr. Rujuta Vinod (who's leading this service) gained much experience in treating this disorder. Throughout her work she heard many stories, and gained her own impressions. The following essay is the summary of what she's experienced so far. This is a good read for anyone interested in Dermatillomania, especially those who are considering therapy themselves.

Click Here to read the essay.

Now I'm not a big fan of tv shows, but this one brought some positive thoughts: apparently skin picking was featured on "Obsessed"

I'm very glad that this disorder slowly enters the public awareness.

How about an episode on "House MD" ?

I've been contacted by a person who conducts research in self injury disorders, with relation to family relations and caffeine.

...now I know that family origins have big impact on development of skin picking. However never thought about its relation to caffeine (or any other substance for that matter...)

Since I'm always more than welcome to help researchers in this field, I decided to post this survey here.

Read more and participate in the survey

If you've been reading a bit online about the skin picking disorder, you must have seen Dr. Grossbart mentioned in a few places. He's the Author of the book SkinDeep, and a known therapist to treat psychologically induced skin disorders.

I had the chance to interview him over the phone last week. You can read the interview HERE

We launched the online counseling service last August. It was (and is) a success! Many people find it very useful and life changing, and I'm very happy about it.

Some people however prefer to get help by a therapist in a traditional manner (face-to-face), even though its costly and less "private". So I took upon myself to help patients find therapist who know how to treat Dermatillomania. After long research, countless emails and some website development, I'm proud to host this list of therapists.

Hopefully more professionals will join this list with time, covering more states in the US and countries worldwide. Therapists can join for free here.