The Hair-Pulling Problem: A Complete Guide to Trichotillomania

by Fred Penzel

Overview

Trichotillomania, one of the family of obsessive-compulsive disorders, may afflict as many as 6 to 8 million people in the United States. Now, a leading authority on obsessive-compulsive disorders, Dr. Fred Penzel, has written the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and authoritative guide to this syndrome available, filled with reassuring advice for patients and their families. Endorsed by the Trichotillomania Learning Center, the leading advocate group for this disorder, this superb handbook includes all the information a patient or relative would need to understand this illness and to cope with it. Penzel provides a detailed discussion of causes and he reviews all the treatment options, describing the most effective medications and their side effects as well as the recommended cognitive and behavioral treatments. He shows patients how to design a self-help program and gain control of their compulsive behavior, how to prevent relapse, describes trichotillomania and its treatment in children, and suggests coping strategies for families at home and in public situations. He also provides a guide to all the resources available, including internet sites, recommended books, and videos, and outlines ways to start a support group. The appendix will include questionnaires, clinical rating scales, and the official DSM diagnostic criteria for the disorder, so readers can decide if they need to seek behavioral and possibly medical treatment. Dr. Penzel has helped patients with OCD and trichotillomania for over twenty years and is one of America's leading authorities on these disorders. Drawing on decades of hands-on experience, he has produced the most complete and scientifically accurate handbook available on this disorder, a comforting guide packed with information to help people with trichotillomania get well and stay well.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190287627
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/27/2003
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Fred Penzel, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of Western Suffolk Psychological Services, in Huntington, New York. He sits on the Science Advisory Board of both the Trichotillomania Learning Center and the Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation and is a longtime contributor to the newsletters of both organizations. The author of the highly successful handbook Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders, Dr. Penzel lectures on trichotillomania and conducts numerous workshops both nationally and internationally and he has appeared on NBC's Dateline in a segment about this illness.

Editorial Reviews

"A must-have for anyone who has suffered in isolation." —Christina Pearson, Executive Director, Trichotillomania Learning Center

"The Hair-Pulling Problem really deserves the description self-help book. You can really use it to get control of your hair pulling and your life." —Patricia Perkins, Executive Director, The Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation

"A wonderfully clear and helpful book aimed at patients. A very helpful guide for patients who suffer from this painful disorder."—Michael A. Jenike, MD, Harvard Medical School

"An accessible, comprehensive, sensitive, and scientifically accurate look at Trichotillomania, a silent and potentially devastating disorder.... The lay public should read this book if for no other reason to understand the complexity and diversity of problems with which we as humans struggle and eventually overcome."—OCD Newsletter

From the Publisher