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Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 3:249-260 (2003)
© 2003 Oxford University Press

Self-Injurious Skin Picking: Clinical Characteristics, Assessment Methods, and Treatment Modalities

   Thilo Deckersbach, PhD
   Sabine Wilhelm, PhD
   Nancy Keuthen, PhD

From the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Contact author: Thilo Deckersbach, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatric Neuroscience Program, Bldg. 149, OCD Clinic, 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129. E-mail: tdeckersbach{at}partners.org.

Self-injurious skin picking is characterized by repetitive, ritualistic, or impulsive skin manipulation that results in tissue damage. It occurs in the absence of an underlying dermatologic condition and causes significant distress or impairment in daily functioning. The present article reviews the clinical characteristics of self-injurious skin picking, methods for assessing this problem, and modalities of treatment. A clinical vignette describes the implementation and outcome of cognitive-behavioral therapy for a patient with self-injurious skin picking and comorbid body dysmorphic disorder. [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 3:249–260 (2003)]

KEY WORDS: self injury, skin condition, dermatology, body dysmorphic disorder






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