Randomized Controlled Trial of the Comprehensive Behavioral (ComB) Model of Treatment for Trichotillomania
Randomized Controlled Trial of the Comprehensive Behavioral (ComB) Model of Treatment for Trichotillomania
This study will be the first randomized controlled trial of Comprehensive Behavior Modification (ComB) as a treatment of trichotillomania (TTM). ComB treatment (12 weekly sessions, following a manual developed in an earlier treatment development project) will be compared to Minimal Attention Control among adults (N = 42) with TTM.
Treatment based on the ComB model has been influential in the field of body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRB's), but there is limited empirical research on its efficacy. Our first project (Falkenstein et al., 2016) developed a 12-session manual for ComB and a method for evaluating therapist adherence to the model that can be used reliably and provided encouraging (uncontrolled) data on the effects of ComB through 3-month follow-up.
The proposed project extends the earlier work in two main ways: (a) using random assignment to ComB vs. comparison condition to test whether ComB works better than the passage of time + demand characteristics of being in a TTM study alone; and (b) gathering initial evidence on how ComB works.
Treatment will be conducted at two sites -- Washington, DC (American University and the Behavior Therapy Center of Greater Washington) and Chicago (University of Chicago). Participants in the Minimal Attention Control condition will receive ComB therapy after the post-treatment [week 12] assessment is conducted. Uncontrolled follow-up data will be collected through 3 (MAC condition) or 6 (immediate ComB condition) months after the end of ComB treatment.
Inclusion Criteria:
18 years of age or older
Exclusion Criteria:
active suicidality
--probable bipolar disorder
probable psychosis