CASE REPORT article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Psychological Therapy and Psychosomatics
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1588939
Case Report:Narrative Therapy Combined with Satir Model for the Treatment of Trichotillomania
Provisionally accepted
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, The 82nd Group Army Hospital of PLA, Baoding, Hebei, China, 解放军第八十二集团军医院, Baoding, China
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Abstract Background: Trichotillomania is a chronic psychiatric and behavioral disorder characterized by recurrent hair-pulling, often leading to significant distress and impairment. Long-term psychotherapeutic case reports remain scarce, especially those integrating Narrative Therapy and the Satir Model in culturally-specific and resource-limited contexts. Case Presentation: We present a two-year integrated psychotherapy case for a 28-year-old woman with trichotillomania, utilizing Narrative Therapy and Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy. Assessments included the Massachusetts General Hospital Hair Pulling Scale (MGH-HPS), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP), and Clinical Global Impression (CGI). Hair-pulling episodes decreased from 150 per day to 5, and MGH-HPS, SAS, and PSP scores improved substantially from baseline to end of treatment and one-year follow-up. The patient maintained gains post-treatment, with improved self-worth and social functioning. Conclusions: This case supports the clinical utility of a Narrative Therapy–Satir Model integration for trichotillomania. The flexible, person-centered approach yielded lasting symptom and functional gains. Limitations include reliance on self-report and potential bias.
Keywords: Trichotillomania, integrative psychotherapy, Narrative Therapy, Satir model, case report
Received: 06 Mar 2025; Accepted: 14 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 刘, chen, wan, wang and chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: zhiguo chen, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, The 82nd Group Army Hospital of PLA, Baoding, Hebei, China, 解放军第八十二集团军医院, Baoding, China
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