Trichotillomania Support in Wellington

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. In New Zealand, only people registered with the New Zealand Psychologists Board can call themselves a psychologist. The Board has a free register search ↗. The title “psychotherapist” is protected in the same way, and the Psychotherapists Board of Aotearoa New Zealand keeps its own public register ↗. “Counsellor” is not a protected title. Many counsellors belong to the New Zealand Association of Counsellors, and hypnotherapists and coaches have their own associations.

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

New Zealand has no charity just for hair pulling or other body-focused repetitive behaviours (BFRBs). An international BFRB organisation runs online groups, and national and Wellington charities support people with anxiety and mental distress.

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

• International OCD Foundation online groups: peer-led BFRB groups on Zoom. Most run on US time, so check how the times fall in New Zealand.
• The Peer Tree (Kites Trust): walk-in peer groups in Wellington for 18 to 30-year-olds. They aren’t about hair pulling, but you don’t need a referral.

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

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

Hair pulling most often starts between ages 10 and 13, around the start of puberty. It can also begin in early childhood, or for the first time in adulthood.

At first it can look like nothing much. A child twists and tugs at a patch of hair while reading or falling asleep. A few eyelashes go missing. Nobody, including the person pulling, thinks of it as a condition.

Over the years, the pattern often shifts. Many people pull from the scalp, eyebrows and eyelashes, and the main site can move from one to another. Some go months with very little pulling, then find it returns during exams, a new job, a move or a hard stretch at home. Others notice it rises and falls in quieter ways, with tiredness or boredom.

Life stages bring their own pressures. Teenagers often start hiding bald patches with fringes, hats or make-up. Adults may pull for decades without telling a partner, a friend or a doctor.

None of this is a bad habit, attention-seeking, self-harm or a lack of willpower. It’s how trichotillomania tends to move through a life. Knowing your own history, such as when it started and when it gets stronger, can make a first conversation with someone who understands much easier.