That is sad. "Trichotillomania" is more common than you might think.

Here are some books that cover "trich":

The Hair-Pulling "Habit" and You (Revised Ed.), Ruth Golomb and Sherrie Vavrichek, Writers' Cooperative of Greater Washington, Siver Spring, Maryland, 2000. A very good self-help workbook for children with trichotillomania.


The Hair Pulling Problem: A Complete Guide to Trichotillomania, Fred Penzel, Ph.D., Oxford University Press, New York, 2003. The latest, largest, and most complete self-help book for hair pullers now available. Available in hardcover.


Help for Hair Pullers: Understanding and Coping with Trichotillomania, Nancy J. Kenthen, Ph.D., Dan J. Stein, M.D., and Gary A. Christenson, M.D., New Harbinger Publications, Oakland, CA, 2001. A very good guide written by three acknowledged experts. Available in paperback.

*NOTE - Many of the above books may be purchased from the OC Foundation.

The OC Foundation is now known as the "International OCD Foundation" which is in Boston. Their web addy is: OCFoundation.org.

Feathers, Renee Trachtenberg, 1998. A beautifully illustrated children's story for children with TTM. Can be ordered through the Trichotillomania Learning Center, Santa Cruz, CA.

There are some wonderful OCD therapists in Boston at the OCD Clinic at Mass General Hosp, Mclean Hospital in Belmont, MA and many others. Can find behavior therapists on the IOCDF's website.

There might be some therapists that specialize in anxiety disorders at Butler Hospital in Providence. Dr. Katharine Phillips works at both Brown Univ as the Dean of something and as a psychologist at Butler hosp. Her specialty is "Body Dysmorphic Disorder" another anxiety disorder but she or someone on her staff might be able to help you or give you a name of someone that treats kids with anxiety disorders. She helped write and organize the recent publication of the DSM-5.

I googled "Trichotillomania" and many links came up including this one:

http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/trichotillomania.html

Hope it helps a little.

I have had OCD and GAD for many years (decades actually) and I do pull my hair at times but I do not consider my hair pulling to be a serious issue so have never sought professional help for it. I hope you can find the best professional help possible for your daughter.

Best wishes.

I was just reading this article by Dr. Fred Penzel who has been treating OCD since 1982. I had never heard or read about the supplement "Inositol" being helpful for OCDers and people with Trichotillomania but he has some anecdotel evidence that it helps some adults and kids.

The part how it relates to children with Trich is near the bottom of the article. Make sure if you or any kid or adult tries this, you follow the instructions and maybe seek out the guidance of an MD. If U read the article it warns to make sure you do not take the Inositol with St. Johns Wort and whatever else it says. The is another supplement to take with the Inositol that makes it more effective (might be called HTP-5).

But it is a low cost way to try and treat OCD and Trich.

http://www.wsps.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70:inositol-and-ocd&catid=36:ocd-and-related-subjects-by-frederick-penzel-phd&Itemid=64

Sorry to post so much on this thread (Obsessive mind? Me? Nah!)but just read two more articles on Inositol research on OCD and some other psyche disorders. Not that anyone on here will care and I am not a big believer in supplements but others are. My warning is that BOTH articles state that PREGNANT women should NOT take inositol. Just FYI.

Who knows? Maybe this Inositol stuff plus or minus 5-HTP might help some OCDers or others with anxiety disorders like Trich. Other than warnings about not taking Insoitol with St. Johns Wart or possibly being harmful to Pregnant women, seems to be a harmless and cheap potential treatment.

PS One small study claims Inositol made most or all of the CHILDREN that tried INOSITOL more AGITATED OR AGGRAVATED.

Thank you