Reduction of Pathological Skin-Picking Via Expressive Writing: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Overview

Journal Clin Psychol Eur

Date 2023 Sep 21

PMID 37732151

Authors

Carina Schlintl

Anne Schienle

Affiliations

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Abstract

Background: Expressive writing (EW: a personal form of writing about emotional distress, without regard to writing conventions) can improve physical and mental health. The present study investigated whether EW can reduce pathological skin-picking. In addition, the effects of two modalities of writing were contrasted with each other: computer vs. paper/pencil.

Method: A total of 132 females with self-reported pathological skin-picking participated in a two-week intervention. They either carried out six EW sessions or wrote about six abstract paintings (control condition), using either paper/pencil or a computer. Before and after each session, participants rated their affective state and the urge to pick their skin via a smartphone application. Questionnaires for assessing skin-picking severity were completed before and after the two-week intervention.

Results: The urge for skin-picking decreased directly after a writing session. The reduction was more pronounced in participants of the EW group, who also experienced reduced tension and increased feelings of relief at the end of a writing session. EW also reduced the severity of focused skin-picking after the two-week intervention. The writing modality had no differential effect on skin-picking symptoms.

Conclusions: This study identified beneficial effects of EW on pathological skin-picking. A future study could investigate EW as a potential tool in the context of (online) psychotherapy for skin-picking disorder.

Citing Articles

Reduction of Pathological Skin-Picking Via Expressive Writing: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Schlintl C, Schienle A Clin Psychol Eur. 2023; 5(2):e11215.

PMID: 37732151 PMC: 10508252. DOI: 10.32872/cpe.11215.

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