Clinics
Clinics
The Hair Pulling Clinic
The Hair Pulling Clinic includes Trichotillomania and other body focused repetitive behaviours such as skin picking and nail biting. The Hair Pulling Clinic has been operating for over ten years, leading to a growing body of knowledge and experience within this area. The Hair Pulling Clinic aims to draw from these collective learnings and deliver best practice interventions to families that attend our clinic.
What is trichotillomania?
- Trichotillomania is characterised by the repetitive pulling out of one’s hair (from the scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes or elsewhere on the body).
- People can experience tension prior to pulling or when trying to resist the behaviour and may experience gratification or relief whilst engaging in the behaviour.
- Many children and young people with trichotillomania feel ashamed and often try to hide the problem. As a result, they can feel isolated, confused and reluctant to ask for help. This secrecy contributes to a general misconception that the behaviour is less common than it actually is.
Like all referrals to MCPC, families that attend The Hair Pulling Clinic undergo a comprehensive assessment that informs an intervention plan specific to the individual needs of your child and family. Trichotillomania is a multi-dimensional problem that is usually maintained by several factors including: efforts to meet their sensory needs, responding to internal and external cues that stimulate pulling behaviours, and the experience of feeling like their hands have a mind of their own. Assessment includes a range of assessment tools aimed at forming a detailed understanding of your child’s unique hair pulling behaviours including the factors that are involved in the lead up to, during pulling, and following pulling.
Gold standard therapeutic interventions draw from evidence-based research specific to trichotillomania and usually includes:
- Developing an awareness of one’s thoughts and body sensations
- Finding alternative strategies to meet one’s sensory needs
- Developing skills and strategies to respond to one’s thoughts, emotions, and internal cues that trigger pulling behaviour,
- Developing techniques to modifying the environment to reduce the urge to pull, and
- Finding ways to block or prevent pulling.
Clinicians that work within The Hair Pulling Clinic have a strong interest in trichotillomania and other body focused repetitive behaviours and have done additional professional development to deliver excellence in care.
Making An Appointment
The Hair Pulling Clinic operates from both Ivanhoe and Hampton. For more information or to make an appointment, please contact either clinic.