Case study: Cognitive behavioral therapy for adolescent skin picking disorder

Skin picking disorder symptoms consist of repetitive picking behaviors which cause significant tissue damage and psychological marked distress. Such symptoms generally arise in adolescence with the occurrence of signs of puberty; the average age of onset is estimated to be between 12 and 16 years. Skin picking disorder often present in comorbidity with obsessive-compulsive disorder, mood and anxiety disorders, cluster B personality disorders. An increasingly large amount of data suggests that cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective form of psychotherapy for this clinical condition. It comprises behavioral techniques including habit reversal training and cognitive strategies (i.e., cognitive restructuring) which may be combined with third-wave psychotherapeutic approaches such as Acceptance & Commitment Therapy. Within the present chapter, the practical application of the cognitive behavioral techniques to clinical practice with adolescents is described and discussed through a clinical case study.