Habit Reversal Training (HRT)
What is Habit Reversal Training?
Habit Reversal Training (HRT) is a behavioral treatment used to help people reduce body-focused repetitive behaviors, such as hair pulling and skin picking. These behaviors can sometimes occur in response to a noticeable urge, emotion, or sensation, while at other times they may happen almost automatically. HRT helps clients become more aware of when and why these behaviors occur and learn more effective ways of responding to urges.
Recognizing Patterns and Urges
An important part of HRT is awareness training. Clients learn to notice the situations, sensations, emotions, activities, and other cues that tend to occur before or during pulling, picking, or other repetitive behaviors.
Increasing awareness can help make a behavior that once seemed automatic more recognizable and predictable. Treatment also looks at patterns in the environment and daily routine that may make the behavior more likely to occur.
What Does HRT Involve?
Treatment is collaborative and tailored to each client’s particular behaviors and patterns. Clients learn and practice competing responses which are alternative behaviors that make pulling, picking, or other repetitive behaviors harder to perform when an urge occurs. Treatment may also include changes to the environment that help reduce triggers or interrupt automatic patterns.
With repeated practice, clients can gain greater awareness of their patterns, develop more control over how they respond to urges, and reduce behaviors that may previously have felt difficult to resist.
Recognizing Patterns and Urges
An important part of HRT is awareness training. Clients learn to notice the situations, sensations, emotions, activities, and other cues that tend to occur before or during pulling, picking, or other repetitive behaviors.
Increasing awareness can help make a behavior that once seemed automatic more recognizable and predictable. Treatment also looks at patterns in the environment and daily routine that may make the behavior more likely to occur.
What Does HRT Involve?
Treatment is collaborative and tailored to each client’s particular behaviors and patterns. Clients learn and practice competing responses which are alternative behaviors that make pulling, picking, or other repetitive behaviors harder to perform when an urge occurs. Treatment may also include changes to the environment that help reduce triggers or interrupt automatic patterns.
With repeated practice, clients can gain greater awareness of their patterns, develop more control over how they respond to urges, and reduce behaviors that may previously have felt difficult to resist.
Ready to take the next step?
Ready to take the next step?
If hair pulling or skin picking is causing distress or interfering with everyday life, HRT can help you develop practical strategies for managing these behaviors. Contact us to determine whether HRT may be a good fit for you or your child.