ipl-logo

Case Study Trichotillomania

1208 Words5 Pages

The person of interest in this case study supposedly suffers from trichotillomania, often known as hair-pulling disorder. The subject chronically pulls strands of hair from different parts of his body, namely his eyebrows and legs. He will feel the targeted area for individual strands of hair that “feel good” and twist them between his fingers, until they eventually come out. The behavior most frequently occurs when the individual is sitting down and has his hands free. His tendency to pull hair comes and goes depending on the day, but he does it to some degree almost every day. When on a bad streak, his eyebrows and legs contain noticeable bald spots from pulling hair. If he is asked about this by others, he will lie and make excuses …show more content…

While not as widely considered today, early investigations into trichotillomania were based on the psychodynamic model. Theorists believed that the disorder “expressed a conflict between genital-stage sexual impulse and the repressive functions of the ego and superego” (Penzel, 2000). From this perspective, compulsive hair-pulling is seen as a coping mechanism to defend the individual from early sexual impulses. If this conflict is not appropriately addressed, the individual may carry this behavior into later life and use it to cope with any source of stress or anxiety. This, again, is very comparable to how psychodynamic theorists account for OCD and related stress behaviors, perhaps indicating that trichotillomania is closely related to OCD. While somewhat lacking in evidence, psychologists have used Freud’s psychodynamic theories to make a plausible explanation for chronic hair …show more content…

This model is predicated on the notion that individuals suffer from erroneous and illogical thinking processes, which contributes to the development of abnormal disorders. When considering OCD, cognitive theorists believe that individuals who do not know how to ignore negative thoughts create measures to neutralize them (Comer, 2013, p. 130). Since it is closely related to OCD, cognitive psychologists would likely view the development of trichotillomania in a similar fashion. Hair-pulling, therefore, becomes a means of neutralizing negative, unwanted thoughts. Overtime, this turns into chronic hair-pulling as a means of dealing with stress, anxiety, and discomfort. This explanation is useful in the context of this case study, as the individual finds himself pulling hair whenever he is not doing something with his hands. The behavior may then serve as his neutralizing agent by giving him something to concentrate on when not otherwise occupied. Although there is minimal research support for this interpretation, it may be used in conjunction with the behavioral perspective to create powerful treatment opportunities for those who experience

Show More
Related

  • Co-Occurring Disorders Case Study

    1125 Words  | 5 Pages

    Co-occurring disorders are common with most client cases that are presenting with a substance use disorder. Rosa is presenting with a history of several suicide attempts, alcohol use disorder, Post traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The client’s most severe symptoms are anger, fear, and shame. It is these symptoms that are complicating her life, causing distress, and self harming behaviors. Additionally, her treatment history is limited since she does not finish her therapy sessions.

    Read More

  • What About Bob: Borderline Personal Disorder

    347 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the movie “What About Bob” from the year of 1991, the main character, Bob possibly had borderline personal disorder and OCD. I did not chose this movie, I watched it in my high school psychology class. It was the first movie that I watched specifically because of a mental illness. In the movie, the mental illness wasn’t specifically specified by the psychologist. Bob knew something was wrong with him by showing that he always needed his psychologist.

    Read More

  • Ocd Research Paper Outline

    1305 Words  | 6 Pages

    Beating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder I. You may have heard the phrase “My OCD is kicking in” when something is disorganized and a person cannot deal with it and has to fix the issue then and there to make it organized but, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is quite more difficult than that. A. According to the Merriam Webster’s dictionary Obsessive is defined as “a state in which someone thinks about someone or something constantly or frequently especially in a way that is not normal.”, and Compulsive is defined as “caused by a desire that is too strong to resist: impossible to stop or control.” The two together do not come out with a good aftermath.

    Read More

  • Obsessive Behavior In Maggie Mitchell's It Would Be Different If

    541 Words  | 3 Pages

    While doing her client's hair, she is so involved in her obsessiveness that she is envisioning him there. She envisioned herself giving him a haircut. She is visualizing him staring back at her in the mirror with them locking eyes (171). “I wait until your truck has pulled away to sweep up the short brown hairs. I can't throw them away, so I tilt the contents of the dustpan into one of the nice creamy envelopes” (171).

    Read More

  • Maxine Clair Cherry Bomb Analysis

    454 Words  | 2 Pages

    Frightened by a mentally ill man in the nearby “yellow house,” the narrator turns this neighbor into a character, the Hairy Man, a figure that is “wooly-headed and bearded.” The narrator finds peace in her Dad’s assertion that the Hairy Man only comes at dark. The narrator’s unconditional trust and belief in her father’s words also displays her innocence. As a fifth-grader, she still takes what her cherished parents say to heart. She often interjects with the repeated words “my mother said’ or “my father said.”

    Read More

  • Single System Research Design

    890 Words  | 4 Pages

    It does not to be a problem behavior, but could also be a strength to be encouraged. The target problem is measured by the number of times problems occurs, problems length of time, length of time between incidents, and intensity of problem. The treatment

    Read More

  • Santae Tribble Case Summary

    704 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1996 to 2004, there was a review done by the FBI into 13 hair analysts (U.S. Department). The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has done three reports on this review (U.S. Department). The latest of these reports came out in 2014 (U.S. Department). In this report, the OIG

    Read More

  • Gender Archetypes And Symbols In Sherman Alexie's Flight

    659 Words  | 3 Pages

    He dreads doing it again because he knows it is wrong. Zits

    Read More

  • Psychoanalysis In The Wizard Of Oz

    1135 Words  | 5 Pages

    Psychoanalysis of the Wizard of Oz Of the many literary theories that have come about over the years, one of the most interesting is the idea of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis was first introduced in the 1880s by Sigmund Freud, he claimed that unconscious desires were the reasoning behind most behavioral problems. Furthermore, Freud speculated that one’s subconscious desires were influenced by what happened in one’s childhood ("Purdue OWL: Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism", 2018). Freud also said that children go through various stages of development where they focus on one body part or another, such as the oral or anal stage, and that children may fixate on their parent of the opposite sex, known as the Oedipus Complex ("Purdue OWL: Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism", 2018). After reading about psychoanalysis it is easy to apply the theory to one of the most beloved movies of all time, The Wizard of Oz.

    Read More

  • Schizoaffective Disorder Case Study

    728 Words  | 3 Pages

    is an illness in which schizophrenic and manic symptoms are both prominent in the same occurrence of the disease. The irregularity of mood typically takes the form of euphoria, accompanied by grandiose ideas and joined by increased self-esteem, but sometimes irritability or excitement are more apparent and joined by aggressive or forceful behavior and persecutory thoughts. In both cases, there is impaired concentration, overactivity, increased energy and a loss of normal social self-consciousness. Delusions of reference, persecution or grandeur, may be existing (Perry, Alexander, Liskow, & DeVane,

    Read More

  • Ocd Thesis Statement

    1374 Words  | 6 Pages

    Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most effective type of psychotherapy for this disorder,where the patient is exposed many times to a situation that triggers the obsessive thoughts, and learns gradually to tolerate the anxiety and resist the urge to perform the compulsion. Medication and CBT together are considered to be better than either treatment alone at reducing symptoms. The patient is strongly encouraged to refrain from his or her habits, with support provided by the therapist, and possibly by others whom the patient calls for assistance. For example, a compulsive hand washer may be encouraged to touch an object believed to be contaminated, and then urged to avoid washing for several hours until the anxiety provoked has greatly decreased. This process leads to the start of another process,which is the process of “Habituation”.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Insanity In Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart

    928 Words  | 4 Pages

    There are many mental illnesses that would lead to insane behaviors ranging from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to Schizophrenia. While it is difficult for the average person diagnose mental disorders from such a short story, the narrator likely has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The care he takes in every aspect of his nightly stalking show the telltale characteristic of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: “And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it- oh so gently!”

    Read More

  • Cognitive Restructuring Essay

    1121 Words  | 5 Pages

    9.8 Cognitive restructuring Extreme or negative thinking has been found to contribute to increase anxiety as unhelpful thinking styles undermine an individual’s perceived ability to cope with a situation. Unhelpful thinking style may include extreme or catastrophic thinking about the dental encounter/procedure (e.g. I might ‘choke’ ) or mind reading and jumping to conclusions(e.g. ‘the dentist won’t understand my phobia and will think I am silly’). Cognitive restructuring refers to a child being taught to recognize the negative thoughts which precipitate their anxiety and replace these with more helpful cognitions.

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of A Dystopian Government In 'Divergent'

    1395 Words  | 6 Pages

    Tris’ mother is cutting her hair, and it is explained how rare it is for Abnegation to be able to do such a simple thing, like look in the mirror. On page 1, “Our faction allows me to stand in front of (the mirror) on the second day of every third month.” Focusing on the section of this quote saying, “my faction allows me,” it is clear that the faction leaders, and rules made by their ancestors, are very strict and possibly over-the-top in control. In our world, we have the right to do simple things without asking and without schedule. We can get our haircut whenever we like, and we can look in the mirror for as long as we want.

    Read More

  • Case Study Sarah's Obsessions And Compulsions

    905 Words  | 4 Pages

    Initially, she obsessed about safety and became extremely doubtful when something needed to be locked. It seems that she was more concerned about someone else’s safety (e.g. her roommate) than her own. She also showed excessive anxiety/obsession when it came to paying the bills, once again where she would check the numbers over and over again. Unfortunately, Sarah’s obsessions and compulsions became much worse after graduating college when a group of

    Read More

More about Case Study Trichotillomania

Open Document