In habit-reversal therapy, patients learn to be aware of
the times, cues, and situations in which they pull their hair.
They practice movements such as those in knitting, crochet, and
needlepoint that redirect their urges to pull their hair. Thus they
learn to “substitute a different and more adaptive behavior”14
and receive social approval for efforts to interrupt the hair
pulling.13 Other approaches such as cognitive-behavioral treatment,
negative practice, and variations of these interventions
have been tried.