ArticleClinical psychology in Europe2023
Reduction of Pathological Skin-Picking Via Expressive Writing: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Article in Clinical psychology in Europe, 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.
- Narrative Review of Internet-Based Self-Help Tools for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors: Recommendations for Clinical Practice.Dermatology and therapy · 2025Review
- Effects of open-label placebos and self-monitoring in skin-picking disorder: a randomized crossover trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Reduction of Pathological Skin-Picking Via Expressive Writing: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Clinical psychology in Europe · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
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.
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