The Clinical Psychology Research Lab directed by Dave Haaga has conducted research on depression, cigarette smoking cessation, and various forms of cognitive assessment and cognitive behavior therapy but now focuses primarily on body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRB) such as Trichotillomania:

Over the years a number of patients have been treated for trichotillomania (TTM) (compulsive hair-pulling) in our training clinic and reported having had considerable trouble finding treatment providers with expertise in TTM. We developed a stepped-care model to try to improve access to TTM and conducted a study of this approach with support from the National Institute of Mental Health.

Subsequent TTM treatment research, supported by the TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, developed and tested a manualized protocol for the Comprehensive Behavioral (COMB) model of treatment developed by Charles Mansueto, PhD and his colleagues.

Selected publications

Carlson, E. J., Malloy, E. J., Brauer, L., Golomb, R. G., Grant, J. E., Mansueto, C. S., & Haaga, D. A. (2021). Comprehensive Behavioral (ComB) Treatment of Trichotillomania: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Behavior therapy, 52(6), 1543-1557.

Falkenstein, M. J., Conelea, C. A., Garner, L. E., & Haaga, D. A. (2018). Sensory over-responsivity in trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder). Psychiatry research, 260, 207-218.

Rogers, K., Banis, M., Falkenstein, M. J., Malloy, E. J., McDonough, L., Nelson, S. O., ... & Haaga, D. A. (2014). Stepped care in the treatment of trichotillomania. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 82(2), 361.

Nelson, S. O., Rogers, K., Rusch, N., McDonough, L., Malloy, E. J., Falkenstein, M. J., ... & Haaga, D. A. (2014). Validating indicators of treatment response: Application to trichotillomania. Psychological assessment, 26(3), 857.