Which psychotherapeutic technique is considered first line specifically for trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder)?

• A Interpersonal psychotherapy
• B Exposure and response prevention
• C Systematic desensitisation
• D Habit reversal training ✓

Explanation

Habit reversal training, built around awareness training, competing response practice, and social support, is the best supported psychological treatment for trichotillomania. Exposure and response prevention is the first-line therapy for OCD itself and does not transfer directly, because hair pulling is driven by tension relief rather than by neutralising an obsession. Systematic desensitisation targets phobic avoidance and interpersonal psychotherapy addresses relational conflict, so neither matches the mechanism of this disorder.

Reference: Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry, 11th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

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