Telangana Journal of Psychiatry

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Cognitive behavioral therapy for excoriation (skin picking) disorder

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Review Article

Author Details : Julio Torales, Larissa Páez, Marcelo O’Higgins, Andrés Arce

Volume : 2, Issue : 1, Year : 2016

Article Page : 27-30

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Abstract

In spite of excoriation (skin picking) disorder being first described in 1875, it has not yet been fully studied and understood. Furthermore over the years it has received multiple names (neurotic excoriation, psychogenic excoriation, pathological skin picking, compulsive skin picking) and only since late 2012 it has been included in diagnostic guidelines. Excoriation (skin picking) disorder can be a challenging condition for the non-experienced physician.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is the most common form of (and most effective in our experience) psychotherapy for the treatment of patients with excoriation (skin picking) disorder and other body-focused repetitive behaviors, such as trichotillomania. In this review article, we present the main elements of this type of psychotherapy in the treatment of these psychodermatology patients.

Key words: Excoriation disorder, Skin picking, Treatment, Cognitive behavioral therapy

How to cite : Torales J, Páez L, O’higgins M, Arce A, Cognitive behavioral therapy for excoriation (skin picking) disorder. Telangana J Psychiatry 2016;2(1):27-30

Copyright © 2016 by author(s) and Telangana J Psychiatry. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (creativecommons.org)