Treating Compulsive Hair Pulling

Compulsive hair pulling is formally called trichotillomania disorder. A sufferer will be forced to pull their own hair from places like the scalp, eye brows and eyelids. In some rare cases they will also pull hair from other places. This will generally happen when the person is over stressed. The person sometimes doesn’t even know that they are doing such an action.

Sometimes they will be urged to pull hair and will experience a feeling of satisfaction after completing the action. Later they will feel ashamed of the hair loss and will avoid many public situations. They will also cover their hair loss with some makeup, hats and wigs. There are many treatments coming forward to cure this disorder and some of them are discussed here.

Individual Therapy

This is a type of treatment which is given to children, teens and adults who suffer from the disorder. The affected person will be taught about the techniques which will make them respond differently to the thoughts of pulling their hair. They will also learn to resist pulling their hair. This therapy is available in the Los Angeles OCD centre.

Ground Therapy

This therapy is also very well done in the Los Angeles OCD centre. It is based on the outline of cognitive behavioral therapy. It will be used for treating persons who have trichotillomania disorder and dermatillomania disorder.

Telephone or Online Therapy

This therapy is for people who are not able to visit their therapist at the clinic. It is also very well performed in the OCD centre of the Los Angeles. This therapy seems to be very cost effective. Just like other therapies this therapy is also safe and effective and will work on the people who are suffering from trichotillomania. This is the therapy which was legally started in California in 1997.

Intensive Treatment

Intensive treatment will be administered to the adults, adolescents and the children with trichotillomania. This treatment meets all the needs of the patient. It is ideal for the patients who find it very difficult to control their thoughts and behavior.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

The most important phase in CBT is the habit reversal training. Here in this training the person suffering from the disorder will be taught about the basic triggers of the disorder and will also learn relaxation techniques. Then later in this process the person will be challenged not to pull their hair. The patient will be monitored to see whether they are pulling their hair during the challenge and if they do further treatments will be used. If they don’t do then they will be able to manage their condition effectively. Another phase of CBT is based on the stimulus control techniques and cognitive restricting.