Lisa Zakhary, MD PhD on Skin Picking or Excoriation Disorder

Skin picking or excoriation disorder is characterized by repetitive and compulsive skin picking, resulting in skin excoriations, as well as functional impairment and/or distress. Accurate estimates of the prevalence of this disorder in the general population are sparse.  A recent epidemiologic study suggests that about 2% of adults in the US suffer from skin picking disorder (Grant & Chamberlain, 2020); their prevalence appears to be much higher in female adolescents and young adults.  

In a recent interview in Vogue, Lisa Zakhary, MD PhD, Medical Director of the MGH Center for OCD and Related Disorders (CORD), discusses some of the misconceptions surrounding skin picking disorder, highlighting the fact that women with this disorder may experience significant distress and dysfunction, leading to social isolation, depression, and anxiety.  

In order to better care for this population, the MGH Excoriation Clinic and Research Unit was opened with the goal of providing state-of-the-art, empirically-based treatments for skin picking symptoms. The clinic is committed to advancing the current treatments for Excoriation (Skin Picking) Disorder through ongoing clinical research.

Why We Need to Talk More About Skin-Picking Disorder (Vogue)

More information on Skin Picking or Excoriation Disorder

Lisa Zakhary, MD PhD is the Medical Director of the MGH Center for OCD and Related Disorders (CORD), Director of Pharmacology in the MGH Excoriation Clinic and Research Unit, and an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School  at Harvard Medical School.  She specializes in the treatment of OCD and a variety of psychodermatologic conditions including compulsive skin picking, trichotillomania, and body dysmorphic disorder. Her current research is focused on evaluating novel treatments for trichotillomania.