This article was written by Carol Novak for OCD Action in April 2003.

Carol Novak, M.D., is an American psychiatrist who has treated over 200 patients with trichotillomania since 1989, with both medication and behavioral therapy.

She was the founding director of the Trichotillomania Learning Center’s Scientific Advisory Board and the medical director of The Pioneer Clinic for obsessive-compulsive disorders, specializing in intensive treatment of trichotillomania.

She has also lectured extensively on trichotillomania around the U.S, England and Germany. Doctor Novak is the Outpatient Medical Director of HealthPartners/Regions Behavioral Health in Minneapolis and St. Paul. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota, School of Medicine.

By Carol Novak, M.D.

I'm a psychiatrist who has specialized in trichotillomania for thirteen years. Over that time, I've treated hundreds of hair pullers and given talks around the country; particularly at the annual conferences and retreats in the U.S. sponsored by the Trichotillomania Learning Center. There I've had the pleasure of meeting hundreds more trich sufferers and their families. In the early years, trichsters were hearing for the first time that there is treatment, that there are others, and many of the realities of trich. There was not a single book about trichotillomania. As time has passed, there has been much more publicity, and books have been written. Perhaps most importantly, we now have the Websites like this one. What started out as four or five professionals who treat trichotillomania extensively has mushroomed to a dozen or two. For the first time in history, scientists are obtaining grants to do research on the origins and treatment of trich.

I visited London to attend the Obsessive Action conference last October and very much enjoyed meeting everyone. I was honored to have been invited by Dr. David Veale to speak at conference, and give a behavioral treatment workshop to therapists at Priory Hospital. I also had my first visit with a support group.

It took me by surprise a bit, to find out how little familiarity psychologists, psychiatrists, and hair pullers have with trichotillomania. I felt like I'd traveled in time to a decade ago. There is also the barrier to treatment of the British health care system. (Not that it's easy to find experienced therapists and psychologists in the States, and not everyone here has health insurance, but we don't have to get a referral in most cases.)

It has been only through the efforts of people like you—hair pullers and their families--that there has been so much interest in, and knowledge gained, of trich. While I don't expect there will ever be another woman like Christina Pearson who founded the Trichotillomania Learning Center in California, I hope that someone will come forward and start an organization solely dedicated to furthering knowledge about all aspects of trichotillomania. While trich has been treated as sort of a stepsister to OCD, it's not very similar in most ways and needs to have a separate voice.

I could write more about how trichotillomania is different than OCD, or about how it's been wrongly portrayed as an untreatable disorder, but I'd rather you went to the TLC's website and take advantage of the wonderful information available there. Do take advantage of other talks by experienced professionals such as Fred Penzel, Ph.D. who will be making a trip to England soon. Good luck, and I hope to visit you again.