Trichotillomania Support in Merseyside

Find a therapist in Merseyside who understands trichotillomania. Whether you pull your own hair or you’re supporting a child or someone you love, search by town or city, from Southport to Birkenhead, for someone near you, or choose Online to see who works with people anywhere in Merseyside.

Find a therapist for trichotillomania in Merseyside

In 1847 Liverpool appointed Dr William Henry Duncan as Britain’s first Medical Officer of Health. Today almost 1.5 million people live across Merseyside’s five boroughs. Yet very few of the therapists and counsellors who work here learned about hair pulling in training. Connecting you with people who already understand it is the reason this directory exists.

Everyone listed here has told us they understand trichotillomania and already help people who pull. The directory includes therapists, counsellors, psychologists, psychotherapists, hypnotherapists, EFT practitioners, NLP practitioners and coaches. Every listing shows how that person works, whether they see people in person, online or both, and what they charge. Each one has a private contact form.

If nobody suitable is near your town, see who works online across Merseyside.

Open the full directory →

Frequently Asked Questions about Trichotillomania in Merseyside

Find a Therapist

How do I find a trichotillomania therapist near me in Merseyside?›

Search our directory by town or city, such as Liverpool, Birkenhead, Southport, St Helens, Wallasey or Bootle. Every listing explains how the person works, what they charge and whether they see people in person, online or both. You can message anyone directly.

Can I have sessions online from anywhere in Merseyside?›

Yes. Many people listed work online with clients anywhere in Merseyside, from Southport to West Kirby. UK registration isn’t split by county, and hypnotherapists, EFT practitioners and coaches aren’t tied to one area either.

How much does trichotillomania therapy cost in Merseyside?›

Private sessions in Merseyside usually cost £40 to £110, with around £50 to £80 typical. Every listing shows its own prices, and many people offer a free first call. Some private health insurance pays part of the cost for some practitioner types.

What kinds of help are there for hair pulling?›

People who pull work with therapists, counsellors, psychologists, psychotherapists, hypnotherapists, EFT practitioners, NLP practitioners and coaches. Different people find different things helpful. Everyone in our directory has told us they understand hair pulling and already help people who pull.

Do I need a GP referral or a diagnosis to get help in Merseyside?›

No. You can contact anyone listed in our directory directly, without a GP referral or a diagnosis. Just tell them you pull your hair and you’re looking for someone who understands trichotillomania.

My child pulls their hair. What do I do first?›

Stay steady and don’t tell them off, because pressure and punishment reliably make pulling worse. Start with The Parent’s Guide to Trichotillomania, and look for someone in the directory whose listing says they work with children and teens.

Are there trichotillomania support groups in Merseyside?›

We haven’t found an in-person trichotillomania group in Merseyside yet. BFRB UK & Ireland runs free monthly online groups for adults, for under-18s, and for parents and loved ones. If you run a group in Merseyside, tell us and we’ll list it for free.

How common is hair pulling in Merseyside?›

About 1 in 50 people have trichotillomania, so roughly 30,000 people across Merseyside. It’s a recognised condition, not a bad habit, and it often starts between ages 10 and 13. Learn more in our complete guide to trichotillomania.

How to get in touch with a therapist

You can message anyone listed here directly, today. You don’t need a GP referral or a diagnosis first.

When you write, say what it is: “I pull my hair. I’m looking for someone who understands trichotillomania.” How they reply tells you a lot about whether they’re the right fit.

Liverpool city centre has the largest group of practitioners. Rodney Street, in the Georgian Quarter, has been known for private clinics for generations. Birkenhead, Southport, St Helens and Crosby each have their own. Merseyrail links Liverpool with Southport and the Wirral, so an in-person session across the river is rarely a long trip. UK registration isn’t split by county, so anyone listed can work with you online wherever you live in Merseyside.

You can also refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies in your borough. That route exists, and it often takes longer, usually without a choice of someone who understands hair pulling.

How to choose who to work with

People who pull find help from all kinds of practitioners: therapists, counsellors, psychologists, psychotherapists, hypnotherapists, EFT practitioners and coaches. Different people find different things helpful. What matters most is that you feel understood.

You can also check a clinician’s registration if you’d like. Titles such as “clinical psychologist” and “counselling psychologist” are protected by law in the UK. The Health and Care Professions Council keeps a free register lookup for them. Many counsellors, psychotherapists and hypnotherapists belong to registers approved by the Professional Standards Authority, which runs its own practitioner check. Other good kinds of help aren’t regulated at all and belong to their own associations instead.

Everyone on this site has one thing in common: they’ve told us they understand hair pulling. On a first call, you can ask:

Have you helped people who pull their hair before?
How do you work? What happens in the first few sessions?
What if I feel it isn’t right for me?

There’s more in our guide to how to talk to someone who can help.

Charities and groups in Merseyside

Merseyside has no charity just for hair pulling or other body-focused repetitive behaviours (BFRBs). The UK’s BFRB charity runs its groups online, and local charities in Liverpool and St Helens support young people and adults. These are the organisations most useful to people in Merseyside who pull.

BFRB UK & Ireland

A peer-led charitable organisation for hair pulling, skin picking and related behaviours. Its volunteers have BFRBs themselves. It runs free online groups for adults, for under-18s, and for parents and loved ones.

OCD Action

A national charity for OCD and related conditions, including BFRBs. Its website has plain-language information on hair pulling, and it runs a helpline and free online groups.

YPAS

The Young Person’s Advisory Service is a Liverpool charity founded in 1966. It offers free, confidential mental health and wellbeing support to children and young people aged 5 to 25, plus support for their parents and carers.

St Helens Mind

The independent local Mind for St Helens. It runs befriending and peer mentor groups, offers a listening ear, and can point you to other services in the borough.

Samaritans

Call 116 123 free, any time of day or night, if things ever feel too much to handle on your own.

Support groups in Merseyside

We haven’t found an in-person trichotillomania group in Merseyside yet. Most people here who pull connect with others online, and for something this private, many find that easier.

BFRB UK & Ireland adults group: a free peer-led group on Zoom, once a month, for anyone 18 or over who pulls or picks.
BFRB UK & Ireland under-18s group: a monthly Zoom group for children and teens aged 7 to 18.
BFRB UK & Ireland parents and loved ones group: a monthly Zoom group for anyone supporting someone who pulls.

For parents: our guide The Parent’s Guide to Trichotillomania helps you understand what your child is going through.

Do you run a Merseyside group? Tell us and we’ll list it for free.

The Sensory Side of Pulling

For many people, trichotillomania is closely tied to touch. The fingers often go looking before the mind has noticed.

Some people search for a particular kind of hair. It might feel coarse, kinked or thicker than the rest, or simply seem out of place. Finding one can bring a strong urge to remove it.

The pull itself is part of the draw. People describe the small snap at the root, or the feel of the hair as it comes free. Afterwards, many roll the hair between their fingers, look closely at the root, or brush it across their lips.

The setting matters too. Pulling often happens in still, quiet moments: reading, scrolling, driving or lying awake. The hands are free and the mind has drifted.

None of this means a person wants to pull. Trichotillomania is not a bad habit, not attention-seeking, not self-harm and not a lack of willpower. The sensory side is part of how the condition works.

Noticing your own details can make a first conversation easier. “I look for the coarse ones at my crown” tells the person you contact a lot, fast.

About this page

Sources: Liverpool Counselling Association, Dr Virginia Kellond Psychological Therapy Service, Liverpool Empowerment Centre and Wobble (session cost data); Health and Care Professions Council; Professional Standards Authority; BFRB UK & Ireland; OCD Action; YPAS; St Helens Mind; Samaritans; Local Government Association and PubMed (William Henry Duncan); Wikipedia (Merseyside, Rodney Street).

Things change. We check this page often, but always check prices and qualifications with the person you contact. This page is information, not medical advice.

Are you a Merseyside therapist or practitioner who works with trichotillomania?

Be found by people looking for help with hair pulling across Merseyside, in person or online.

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About Merseyside

Merseyside is a county of almost 1.5 million people in North West England, formed in 1974 from parts of Lancashire and Cheshire. The Mersey estuary splits it in two, with Liverpool on the east bank and the Wirral peninsula on the west. Two road tunnels, Merseyrail and the Mersey Ferry link the two sides.

Liverpool grew into one of Britain’s great ports and produced the Beatles. Its Georgian Quarter runs along Hope Street between the city’s two cathedrals. Across the river, Birkenhead Park was Britain’s first publicly funded civic park. Southport, to the north, is a seaside resort with the second-longest pier in Britain. Sand dunes and pinewoods line the Sefton coast at Formby. St Helens, to the east, built its name on coal and glass, and Knowsley Hall, near Prescot, is the Earl of Derby’s ancestral home.

Attractions in Merseyside

Merseyside’s attractions run from Liverpool’s cathedrals to a beach of iron figures, a soap-maker’s village and a glassmaking town.

Liverpool Cathedral, Liverpool

Giles Gilbert Scott was 22 when he won the competition to design this cathedral. Building began in 1904 and was completed in 1978. It is the largest cathedral in Britain, and its tower holds the highest and heaviest ringing peal of bells in the world. It is free to enter.

Another Place, Crosby Beach

Antony Gormley’s 100 cast-iron figures stand along almost 3km of Crosby Beach, some up to a kilometre out towards the sea. Each is cast from the artist’s own body and weighs 650 kilos. They arrived in 2005, and Sefton Council voted in 2007 to keep them for good.

Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight

William Hesketh Lever built this gallery in his workers’ village in memory of his wife, Elizabeth, and it opened in 1922. It holds Pre-Raphaelite paintings by Burne-Jones, Holman Hunt, Millais and Rossetti, and one of the world’s leading collections of Wedgwood jasperware. Entry is free.

The World of Glass, St Helens

This museum opened in 2000 beside the Pilkington glassworks, the firm that made St Helens a glassmaking town. You enter through a brick cone built in 1887 for one of the first continuous glass-making furnaces. Below it, you can walk through the furnace’s Victorian tunnels.

Knowsley Safari, Prescot

The 18th Earl of Derby opened this safari park on his family’s Knowsley estate in July 1971. Visitors drive a five-mile route past rhinos, camels, lions and baboons. The estate kept animals long before that: in the 19th century, Edward Lear came to paint the 13th Earl’s menagerie.