Palm Beach trichotillomania (trich) support group
Trichotillomania affects as much as 4% of the population.
Okay, so in addition to the possible Palm Beach OCD support group, I am also thinking about forming a trichotillomania (trich) support group. For those of you who aren’t familiar with trichotillomania, it’s an impulse control disorder that is associated with compulsive hair-pulling behaviors. It is likely that trich will soon be officially reclassified as an OC-spectrum disorder in the upcoming DSM-V, which is the manual that psychiatrists and psychologists use when making mental health diagnoses.
Possibilities for the group location include Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Juno, or West Palm Beach. Miami and Fort Lauderdale locations might also be considered, but these are unlikely at this point.
If you’re interested in this, please let me know.
If you would like to receive email reminders about upcoming support groups, you can access our sign-up form here.
Questions? Comments? Sound off below.
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Dr. Steven Seay is a licensed psychologist in Florida & Missouri. He is the Director of the Center for Psychological & Behavioral Science and provides treatment & therapy throughout South Florida, including Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Fort Lauderdale, & Miami.
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Hi,
I live in Texas and was wondering if you were able to get a support group together if you would ask any of them if they would contact me and have some long distance Internet support. I am the only person I know with TTM and would live to be able to talk to someone else with it.
Hi Ashley. I’d be happy to do that. No one from Palm Beach has replied to this yet, though. FYI, trich.org has great resources. Check out http://www.trich.org/treatment/support-groups-5.html for a list of Texas support groups. P.S. I originally posted this reply over a month ago, but unbeknownst to me, my blog wasn’t set up properly to send out reply notifications. I’m reposting this today so that you get my reply.
I would be interested. We live in Palm City Stuart area. My 13 daughter suffers from trich and we have been unable to find any effective help or support.
Hi Trisha. Thanks for your message. Sorry for the delay in getting back with you. I will definitely add you to the list and let you know when we have enough people to start a group. Many people struggle with trich, and your daughter is most likely to benefit from working with a therapist who practices habit reversal training (HRT), which is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Trich often presents challenges for the entire household. It’s quite easy to fall into power struggles over pulling or to adopt the role of “trich police” in order to help decrease a family member’s hair-pulling. Unfortunately these strategies can backfire and often don’t have any lasting positive effects. Make sure that in addition to working with your daughter, your therapist works with you on trich-related parenting strategies. The right strategies can make a big difference in your daughter’s recovery.
My name is kalah and i am 19 and live in west palm beach. I have had Trichotillomania for 6 years and i would be very much interested in this support group.
Hi Kalah. Thanks for posting. We’re getting much closer to having enough people to start this group, but I’d like to have a few more before the group starts meeting. I’ll keep you updated on the status of the group.
just one more question that i forgot to include in my post that i would like to know is, what would be the cost of the support group?
There’s no cost for the group–it will be offered as a free community service. In my opinion, it’s really important for people to be able to connect with others who may be facing similar challenges.
My 10 yr old son has been pulling his eyelashes since November 2010. We went to therapy for a several months and decided to take a break since he wasnt making too much progress and we cant really afford to continue. We live in Boca Raton and would be interested in going to a support group.
Hi Irene. Thanks for your note. It seems as though we’ll have a pretty wide spread of ages among our group members. We should talk before the group starts to make sure that it will be appropriate for him. I think we’ll be able to make it work well–we’ll just have to plan carefully. I’ll email you (and everyone else) when we have a date.
I live in Coconut Creek but would be willing to travel for a trich support group. I have been pulling for about 10 years now, and really want to get it under control. I’m finding it almost impossible to find a therapist specializing in trich, and I think a trich-specific support group would be fantastic.
Sorry, forgot to include my email address on my first comment.
Got it. Thanks, Beth.
Hello, I live in Deerfield and would like to attend. I first started as a freshman in high school and I am now 31.
I have had TTM for 36 years and don’t see how it could possibly go away at this point but would be interested in trying…yet again.
TTM can be managed and reduced through specific strategies, but unfortunately, science has not yet given us a true “cure”. Here’s hoping that our knowledge advances quickly.
I would be very interested in this support group for my daughter that is now 12. Her TTM started at age 10 and I have been actively looking for a group therapy environment. We live in the Pembroke Pines area. Thank you.
I’ve been struggling with trich the past few years and I live in west palm beach. I would be very interested in joining a group.
I’ve had trich for 27 years. I would love to go to a group that is around the Clearwater / St. Petersburg area. Thanks.