# Understanding trichotillomania (hair-pulling) and other body-focused repetitive behaviors, with Clare Mackay, PhD, and Suzanne Mouton-Odum, PhD

An episode of [Speaking of Psychology](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/705934263), 29 Oct 2025, 37 min.

Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/AMERICANPSYCHOLOGICALASSOCIATION1296925013.mp3?updated=1761323485

Body-focused repetitive behaviors such as hair pulling (trichotillomania) and skin picking are relatively common but remain stigmatized and misunderstood. Suzanne Mouton-Odum, PhD, and Clare Mackay, PhD, talk about why these behaviors occur and how they relate to grooming and emotion regulation; how living with BFRBs affects people’s lives and mental health; why reducing shame and stigma is so important; and how parents can support children with BFRBs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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