title: A preliminary investigation of acceptance and commitment therapy as a treatment for chronic skin picking.
abstract: The effectiveness of a deliberately limited version of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for chronic skin picking was evaluated in a pair of multiple baseline across participants designs. Self-monitoring of skin picking showed that four of the five participants reached near zero levels of picking by post-treatment, but these gains were not fully maintained for three of the four participants at follow-up. The findings of the self-reported skin picking were generally corroborated by ratings of photographs of the damaged areas and by ratings on a validated measure of skin picking severity. All participants rated the intervention as socially acceptable, and reductions were found on measures of anxiety, depression, and experiential avoidance for most participants as a result of the intervention. Results support the construction of more comprehensive ACT protocols for skin picking.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Mail Stop 298, Reno, NV 89557-0062, USA. twohigm@unr.nevada.edu
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Twohig
authors.forename: Steven C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Masuda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000628:therapy*; D012867:Skin / Q000293:injuries*; D016896:Treatment Outcome