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Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs)

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BFRBs such as compulsive skin picking, compulsive nail biting, cheek biting, and nose picking are very similar to trichotillomania (TTM) in their clinical presentation and their effect on the family and the sufferer’s self-image. BFRBs often co-occur with TTM.  They are understood to be similar to TTM, and the same treatment approach used for TTM is used for BFRBs as well.
Treatment of BFRBs involves detecting and defining the individual's profile for the unwanted behavior. Since no two individuals with these conditions are alike, a customized plan of behavioral and cognitive strategies must be developed for you. These strategies are applied to gradually help you learn to dismantle the automatic chain of events that leads to the unwanted behavior of pulling and to replace it with more adaptive behaviors. Techniques such as awareness training, habit reversal training, stimulus control, exposure therapy, cognitive therapy, and backward chaining may be used. The goal of treatment is to achieve either a substantial decrease or abstinence from the unwanted behavior.  
We have specialized experience in helping individuals learn to overcome body-focused repetitive behaviors one step at a time. 
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