Skin Picking

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Permalink Reply by John Cleesattel on February 5, 2010 at 6:42am

I would treat it similar to a nail biting habit as it is usually an appearance driven activity (they are just trying to make it look/feel better).

Parts therapy; to find out cause, and to determine and agree upon an alternate activity to replace the skin picking one, that will provide a better outcome.

Then, have them commit to being kinder to their skin by finding a skin care product to help with any dryness/itching as a preventative measure, and commit to using it.

Have them experience the solution as successful, then future pace them to show the success of the solution long term, and make sure you include how good they feel about themselves because they aren't controlled by that nasty habit anymore.

I hope this helps you
John

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl Westley on February 5, 2010 at 6:42am

What Ian said. Also, if she can identify any triggers, those can be swished to tone them down, while you continue to work with other identified issues as they come up.

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Permalink Reply by Kelley Woods on February 5, 2010 at 7:01am

Hi Gayle,

I have dealt with a client who had a mild form of skin-picking, which manifested from her anxiety. She was successful in eliminating the habit through practicing self-hypnosis for stress release and using imagery to create a protective barrier on her skin. Pickers often relay that they feel emotional relief from this activity.

I would suggest using Parts Therapy to discover cause and make the desired changes. If your client has damaged skin as a result of her behaviour, you will need to help her move past any negative emotions regarding that.

Here is a helpful page regarding a serious form of skin-picking: http://ocd.about.com/od/typesofocd/a/Skin_Picking.htm

There was also an episode on A & E's "Obsessed" series about this condition that was quite horrible to watch. I believe you can watch it on the A & E site.

Best wishes,

Kelley

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Permalink Reply by Kelley Woods on February 5, 2010 at 7:10am

Update: A & E is showing only a clip at this time, but you can watch the episode for a limited time for free here: http://www.casttv.com/shows/obsessed/aj-vanessa/eqvgio1

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Permalink Reply by Kelley Woods on February 6, 2010 at 7:18am

PS ~ If you have not yet read Dr. Grossbart's "Skin Deep", it's here, free: http://grossbart.com/index.html

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Permalink Reply by Jon Rhodes on February 6, 2010 at 9:49am

You could even use a very simple direct suggestion something like - "as soon as your hand moves in an attempt to pick skin, you will instantly and automatically relax and your hand will return to where it was."

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl Westley on February 6, 2010 at 10:02am

Simply stopping the picking is a good start. It's also important to instill a new, healthy coping mechanism.

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