Trichotillomania Support in Tennessee

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

Find a therapist for trichotillomania in Tennessee

Tennessee is three regions in one: East, Middle and West, the three stars on the state flag. Memphis and Bristol sit more than 400 miles apart, and people who understand hair pulling are thin on the ground in all three. Finding one near you is the hard part. It’s the reason this directory exists.

The directory includes therapists, counselors, psychologists, 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.

From the Mississippi River to the Smokies, you can also see who works online across Tennessee.

Open the full directory →

Frequently Asked Questions about Trichotillomania in Tennessee

Find a Therapist

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

Search our directory by town or city. Every listing explains how the person works, what they charge and whether they see people in person, online or both. Most in-person options are in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga. Elsewhere, many people choose online sessions.

Can I have sessions online from anywhere in Tennessee?›

Yes. Many people listed work online with clients anywhere in Tennessee. Licensed psychologists and professional counselors from other member states can also work with Tennesseans online. Hypnotherapists, EFT practitioners and coaches aren’t limited by state lines.

How much does trichotillomania therapy cost in Tennessee?›

Private sessions in Tennessee usually cost $90 to $200, with around $110 to $140 typical and the Nashville area toward the top. Every listing shows its own prices, some insurance plans pay part of the cost, and many people offer a free first call.

What kinds of help are there for hair pulling?›

People who pull work with therapists, counselors, psychologists, 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 doctor’s note or a diagnosis to get help in Tennessee?›

No. You can contact anyone listed in our directory directly, without a doctor’s note 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 Tennessee?›

We haven’t found an in-person trichotillomania group in Tennessee yet. The International OCD Foundation lists online BFRB groups, and the Picking Me Foundation runs a free online group that welcomes people who pull. If you run a group, tell us and we’ll list it.

How common is hair pulling in Tennessee?›

About 1 in 50 people have trichotillomania, so roughly 70,000 to 140,000 Tennesseans. It’s a recognized 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. You don’t need a doctor’s note or a diagnosis.

When you write, say what it is: “I pull my hair. I’m looking for someone who understands trichotillomania.” Their reply tells you a lot.

Most Tennessee practitioners work in and around Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga. Smaller groups practice in Clarksville, Murfreesboro, Jackson and the Tri-Cities. In the Cumberland Plateau, the Upper East Tennessee mountains and rural West Tennessee, the nearest office can be an hour away. Online sessions close that gap.

Tennessee belongs to the agreements that let licensed psychologists and professional counselors from other member states work with residents online. The counselor agreement went live in Tennessee in September 2026. Hypnotherapists, EFT practitioners and coaches aren’t bound by these licensing rules.

You can also go through your insurance, TennCare or a community mental health center. That route exists, and it often takes longer.

How to choose who to work with

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

If you’d like to check a licensed clinician’s registration, it’s free. The Tennessee Board of Examiners in Psychology licenses psychologists. A separate state board licenses professional counselors and marital and family therapists. You can look up anyone they license with the Department of Health’s license verification tool. Many other good kinds of help aren’t licensed by the state at all and belong to their own professional 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?

Charities and groups in Tennessee

Tennessee has no charity just for hair pulling. These national and statewide organizations are still useful to Tennesseans who pull.

International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)

The main US home for BFRB support, including trichotillomania. Its website explains hair pulling in plain terms, and its support-group listings include online BFRB groups open to people anywhere in the US.

OCD Tennessee

The IOCDF’s official Tennessee affiliate, set up in 2024 to serve people across the state. Its focus is OCD, but it links Tennesseans to the wider IOCDF community, which includes BFRBs.

Picking Me Foundation

A Chicago nonprofit founded in 2016 by Lauren McKeaney. It focuses on skin picking, and its free online group is open to adults with any BFRB, including hair pulling.

NAMI Tennessee

The state branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, based in Hendersonville. Its local affiliates run from Memphis and Dyersburg to Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga and Johnson City. Their free peer and family groups aren’t specific to hair pulling.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Call or text 988, any time of day or night, if things ever feel too much to handle on your own. It’s free and reaches trained crisis counselors in Tennessee.

Support groups in Tennessee

We haven’t found an in-person group just for hair pulling in Tennessee yet. Most Tennesseans who pull connect online, and for something this private, many find that easier.

IOCDF support-group listings: online BFRB groups that anyone in Tennessee can join.
Picking Me Foundation: a free online group for adults with any BFRB, hair pulling included.
NAMI affiliates: free general mental health peer groups in 17 Tennessee communities, including Memphis, Nashville, Murfreesboro, Knoxville and Chattanooga.

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

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

Tension, Pull, Relief, Repeat

Many people who pull describe the same loop. It starts with a build-up: tension, restlessness, an itch at one spot, or a feeling that a hair is wrong and has to go. The pull brings a moment of release. For some it feels like relief. For others it’s closer to satisfaction, or simply quiet.

Then the moment passes. Often what follows is regret, frustration or embarrassment about the gap in a brow or the thin patch on the scalp. Those feelings add to the tension, and the loop starts again.

This is why trichotillomania isn’t a bad habit, attention-seeking, self-harm or a lack of willpower. The pull does something real in the moment, even though the person pulling may wish it didn’t. Many people also pull without noticing, while reading, driving or scrolling on a phone. They only see the hairs on the desk afterward.

Knowing the loop has a shape can help. It turns “Why can’t I just stop?” into a more useful question: “What was happening just before I pulled?”

About this page

Sources: PSYPACT Commission (ASPPB); Counseling Compact Commission; Tennessee Board of Examiners in Psychology; Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists; Tennessee Department of Health (license verification); SimplePractice therapy cost data; International OCD Foundation; OCD Tennessee; Picking Me Foundation; NAMI Tennessee; 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline; Tennessee State Museum and Tennessee Code (Grand Divisions).

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 Tennessee therapist or practitioner who works with trichotillomania?

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

Get listed

About Tennessee

Tennessee runs from the Mississippi River in the west to the Appalachian Mountains in the east, and borders eight other states. State law splits it into three Grand Divisions. West Tennessee is flat former cotton country. Middle Tennessee is rolling hills around the Nashville Basin. East Tennessee rises into the Cumberland Plateau and the Great Smoky Mountains.

Nashville is the state capital and largest city, known for country music and Music Row. Memphis sits on a bluff above the Mississippi, and Beale Street is the heart of its blues history. Knoxville is home to the University of Tennessee’s main campus. Chattanooga lies on the Tennessee River below Lookout Mountain.

Attractions in Tennessee

Tennessee pairs the country’s most visited national park with the buildings where country music, the blues and the civil rights story were made.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park (East Tennessee)

Established in 1934, the park covers more than 520,000 acres across Tennessee and North Carolina. It is the most visited national park in the US and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kuwohi, formerly Clingmans Dome, is its highest peak at 6,643 feet.

Ryman Auditorium (Nashville)

Nashville businessman Thomas Ryman built it as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, and it opened in 1892. It took his name in 1904. The Grand Ole Opry broadcast from its stage from 1943 to 1974, and it became a National Historic Landmark in 2001.

National Civil Rights Museum (Memphis)

The museum is built around the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot on April 4, 1968. It opened in 1991, and Room 306 is preserved as it was. Exhibits trace civil rights history from the 17th century onward.

Tennessee Aquarium (Chattanooga)

Its River Journey building opened on the Tennessee River in 1992 as the largest freshwater aquarium of its day. Ocean Journey followed in 2005 and holds the 618,000-gallon Secret Reef. Together they house more than 12,000 animals.

Sunsphere (Knoxville)

This 266-foot tower was built for the 1982 World’s Fair. Its gold sphere is glazed with panels layered in 24-karat gold dust. The observation deck looks out over World’s Fair Park, the Tennessee River and the University of Tennessee to the Smokies.