Excoriation: What Counselors Need to Know About Skin Picking Disorder

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 281-297
Author(s):  
Gina E. Jagger ◽  
William R. Sterner
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Distress ◽  
Functional Impairment ◽  
Tissue Damage ◽  
Skin Lesions ◽  
Diagnosis And Treatment ◽  
Case Scenario ◽  
Skin Picking ◽  
Suggested Approach ◽  
Skin Picking Disorder

Excoriation is a disorder in which individuals repetitively scratch or pick their skin, resulting in visible tissue damage. The skin lesions that occur from excoriation can lead to physical disfigurement, functional impairment, and emotional distress. Although skin picking is a common behavior that can negatively impact various domains of a person's life, many clinicians are unaware that there are instances in which this condition can be classified a pathological disorder. This article focuses on the prevalence, course, etiology, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of excoriation. A case scenario is included to demonstrate how a client may present in session, followed by suggested approach to treatment. Implications for clinicians are also discussed.

When to Choose Paroxetine Treatment in Skin-Picking Disorder: A Case Report

2022 ◽  
pp. 155005942110733
Author(s):  
Mehmet K. Arıkan ◽  
Muazzez Ç. Oba ◽  
Reyhan İlhan ◽  
Mehmet C. Mat
Keyword(s):  
Case Report ◽  
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors ◽  
Treatment Success ◽  
Skin Lesions ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Skin Picking ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Skin Picking Disorder ◽  
Paroxetine Treatment

Skin picking disorder (SPD) characterized by repetitive compulsive scratching in the absence of a primary skin disease is strongly associated with psychiatric comorbidities, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression (MDD). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been used in the treatment of SPD with variable success. Nevertheless, the optimum treatment choice for SPD is an issue for clinicians. This case report presents a 32-year-old female SPD patient treated with four-week paroxetine monotherapy. Based upon the clinical interview and standardized questionnaires, the patient was diagnosed with OCD with depressive features and Skin Picking Disorder. In addition to symptom severity scales, quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) was also applied. Paroxetine treatment was started (titrated from 5 to 40 mg/day) and doubled each week. After four-week paroxetine monotherapy, OCD symptoms were diminished, and skin lesions were completely regressed leaving solely post inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Post-treatment qEEG assessment also showed a normalization of frontal alpha power and amplitude asymmetry. It can be concluded that if OCD includes SPD with abnormal EEG patterns; then the treatment success using paroxetine will be very high.

Skin Picking – A Case Report

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S494-S495
Author(s):  
A. Fonseca ◽  
A. Poças ◽  
A. Batista ◽  
R. Araújo
Keyword(s):  
Case Report ◽  
Clinical Improvement ◽  
Psychotropic Drugs ◽  
Tissue Damage ◽  
Impulse Control ◽  
Clinical Observation ◽  
Skin Lesions ◽  
Skin Picking ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Clinical Advances

IntroductionCompulsive skin picking and trichotillomania are both impulse control disorders, characterized by the need or urge to touch, scratch, scrub, friction, rub, bite, press or dig in the skin; it is often an answer to minimum skin defects or to mild acne. The resulting tissue damage can be moderate to severe.ObjectiveCase report of a woman with Skin picking resistant to treatment.MethodsClinical observation.Results43-year-old woman who was admitted in emergency in June 2014 because of her skin lesions. After observation by Dermatologist she was sent to the Psychiatric due to injuries caused by her. She referring compulsion to scratch, bite and tear the skin since she was 3 years old. After introduction of psychotropic drugs, the patient was referred to the Psychiatric consultations. After 1 year consultation there is some clinical improvement.ConclusionDespite clinical advances in psychiatry, the Skin Picking disease is still little known today, requiring more research and knowledgement in terms of phenomenology and of treatment.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Getting to the root of the problem: skin picking disorder and aesthetic procedures

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 472-475
Author(s):  
Eda Gorbis ◽  
Carolyn Kim
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Skin Lesions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Chronic Mental Illness ◽  
Skin Picking ◽  
Naked Eye ◽  
Excoriation Disorder ◽  
Skin Picking Disorder ◽  
Aesthetic Procedures ◽  
Do So

Excoriation disorder or skin picking disorder (SPD) is a chronic mental illness. It is defined by recurrent skin picking, scratching, rubbing and digging or urges to do so that goes on for extended periods of time, resulting in skin lesions and behaviour that interferes with functioning in other areas of life. The skin-picked area of the body can be smooth and healthy, and the anomaly invisible to the naked eye. Commonly, individuals with SPD seek aesthetic procedures to address perceived self-defects or to remedy their self-inflicted scarring. It is important for aesthetic practitioners to identify SPD because continuing with aesthetic interventions could worsen the illness for the sufferer. In response to this issue, aesthetic practitioners can identify individuals with SPD by administering a screening questionnaire and appropriately providing referrals to mental health professionals.

scholarly journals ACT‐enhanced group behavior therapy for trichotillomania and skin‐picking disorder: A feasibility study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mia Asplund ◽  
Christian Rück ◽  
Fabian Lenhard ◽  
Tove Gunnarsson ◽  
Martin Bellander ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Feasibility Study ◽  
Behavior Therapy ◽  
Group Behavior ◽  
Skin Picking ◽  
Skin Picking Disorder

Heightened Sense of Incompleteness in Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily J. Ricketts ◽  
Ívar Snorrason ◽  
Abel S. Mathew ◽  
Erna Sigurvinsdottir ◽  
Ragnar P. Ólafsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skin Picking ◽  
Skin Picking Disorder

scholarly journals Comorbidity, Functional Impairment, and Emotional Distress: A Coping Mediation Model for Persons With Cancer

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas V Merluzzi ◽  
Errol J Philip ◽  
Brenna Gomer ◽  
Carolyn A Heitzmann Ruhf ◽  
Dahyeon Kim
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Emotional Distress ◽  
Functional Impairment ◽  
Model Comparison ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Life Assessment ◽  
Functional Impairments ◽  
Brief Cope ◽  
Distress Scale ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Background Comorbid disease in cancer patients can substantially impact medical care, emotional distress, and mortality. However, there is a paucity of research on how coping may affect the relationship between comorbidity and emotional distress. Purpose The current study investigated whether the relations between comorbidity and emotional distress and between functional impairment and emotional distress were mediated by three types of coping: action planning (AP), support/advice seeking (SAS), and disengagement (DD). Methods Four hundred and eighty-three persons with cancer completed a measure of functional impairment (Sickness Impact Profile), the Checklist of Comorbid Conditions, the Brief COPE, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Quality of Life Assessment for Cancer Survivors (Negative Feelings Scale), and the Distress Screening Schedule (Emotional Distress Scale). The latter three measures were used to form a latent construct representing the outcome, emotional distress. Results Model comparison analysis indicated that the model with DD as a mediator had a better fit than models containing AP and SAS. DD mediated the relationship between functional impairment and emotional distress, so that engaging in DD was associated with greater distress. In addition, comorbidity and functional impairment were directly and positively related to emotional distress, but the relation between comorbidity and distress was not mediated by coping type. Conclusions Both comorbidity and functional impairment may be associated with distress, but disengagement coping only mediated the relation involving functional impairment and was positively associated with distress. Future studies can investigate whether teaching active coping or adaptive coping (e.g., through mindfulness exercises) can decrease distress in cancer patients, despite functional impairments.

scholarly journals Improvement in excoriation (skin-picking) with use of risperidone in a patient with developmental disability

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cody Roi ◽  
Alessandra Bazzano
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Autistic Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Skin Picking ◽  
Autistic Spectrum ◽  
Valuable Treatment ◽  
Skin Picking Disorder ◽  
Core Symptoms ◽  
Psychosocial Complications

Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder present with a heterogeneous mix of features beyond the core symptoms of the disorder. These features can be emotional, cognitive or behavioral. Behavioral symptoms often include self-injury, and this may take the form of repetitive skin-picking. The prevalence of skin-picking disorder in Autism is unknown. Skin-picking may lead to significant medical and psychosocial complications. Recent data suggest that behavioral interventions may be more effective than medications at reducing skin-picking in neurotypical patients. In this case, an 11-year-old male with intellectual disability and autistic spectrum disorder, with self-injurious skin-picking, was treated with risperidone with complete resolution of skin-picking symptoms. risperidone has been approved for irritability and aggression in Autistic spectrum disorder, and may be a valuable treatment option for skinpicking in pediatric patients with developmental disabilities.

scholarly journals Epilepsy and excoriation (Skin-Picking) disorder

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-30
Author(s):  
Jan Hubeňák
Keyword(s):  
Skin Picking ◽  
Skin Picking Disorder
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