DERMATILLOMANIA
(SKIN PICKING)

Skin picking, also known as dermatillomania, is something many people experience from time to time, often without even realising it. It can start as a small habit—perhaps picking at a blemish or a rough patch of skin—and gradually become a more persistent way of managing stress, tension, or simply a sense of restlessness. For some, it can feel like a private struggle, but it’s more common than you might think. 

TESTIMONIALS

Testimonial for help with skin picking (dermatillomania) and over-thinking using CBT (metacognitive therapy) and DBR (deep brain reorienting)

I knew I had to get some kind of control. I had reached the point where I didn’t want to go on anymore.

During my work with Sarah, I learned how to control my overthinking.  It appears my skin-picking was a coping mechanism and a stress release. As I am coping better with life’s stressors and not getting as overwhelmed by them, I am able to control the urge to pick my skin. We did some therapy on dermatillomania, which specifically targeted this condition with a positive outcome.

I now feel more content, centred, and experience more moments of peace. Life will always have its challenges but I am more equipped to deal with them, as and when they happen, rather than worrying about future events. Thoughts will obviously arise about the past but I have learned how to accept that these events are in the past and leave them alone. 

I feel I would not have been able to achieve all of this without Sarah’s support and caring approach. I found her to be extremely gifted and knowledgeable. I would highly recommend her. 

(Female age 45, mixture of online and in person therapy, May 2025)