ArticlePsychology and psychotherapy2023
The problem with picking: Permittance, escape and shame in problematic skin picking.
Article in Psychology and psychotherapy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Artificial intelligence in human resource management: models for recruitment, training, performance, compensation, and retention.Frontiers in artificial intelligence · 2026Article
- The Relationship Between Chronic Pruritus, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and Skin Picking-A Case Series and Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- The problem with picking: Permittance, escape and shame in problematic skin picking.Psychology and psychotherapy · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesProblematic skin picking (SP) is a poorly understood experience characterised by a drive to pick the skin and related psychosocial impact. In the DSM-5, problematic SP is classified as 'excoriation (skin picking) disorder'. The aim of this article is to present a rare qualitative perspective on the lived experience of problematic SP, prioritising participants' voices and sense-making.
designAn in-depth qualitative study of individuals who self-identified as picking their skin problematically and experienced related distress.
methodsSeventeen UK-based participants were recruited online and interviewed about their SP. Participants were given choice of interview modality, including instant messenger platforms, telephone, email and Skype, to maximise comfort and improve the accessibility of the study. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis.
resultsThree themes offering novel insight into the phenomenology of participants' SP are highlighted and explored: (1) how cognitions and circumstances drove and permitted SP, (2) how participants 'zoned out' while SP and the escape or relief that this attentional experience offered and (3) participants' feelings of shame and distress in how they felt their SP may appear to others.
conclusionsThis study contributes in-depth and novel ideas to the understanding of SP phenomenology and identifies how environmental factors, cognitions, contextual distress and shame may be considerations in therapeutic intervention. It presents the complexity of SP sense-making and demonstrates the need for individual formulation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.