Pick a color. Pick a date. Pick a card, any card. The mere mention of the word “pick’” used to make me cringe. As an avid writer, filmmaker, stand-up comedienne, and gregarious individual, storytelling is in my nature, but there was one story I was determined never to tell.

I have compulsively picked my skin daily for well over two decades, am scarred head-to-toe, and have spent the majority of my formative years doing anything and everything I could to keep anyone from looking too closely or asking too many questions. My skin picking disorder- or, as I came to know it, dermatillomania -was my shameful, confusing, unstoppable, dirty little secret that not only shaped and defined my skin but crafted myriad falsehoods of my life experiences and interpretations of my own identity. If you were to tell me a year ago that I would transition from being a silent sufferer to creating and running my own nonprofit advocating for the same disorder, I’d ask if you felt feverish.

But here we are. This is a story of identity and personal growth, the self-esteem that it takes to accept and live with a mental illness, and how choosing yourself over the disorder that chose you is the ultimate freedom. This is how I’m #PickingMe over my BFRB.

Born three months premature, followed by a two-month stay in a NICU, my friends used to joke that my touchy way with people, places, and things was a way to compensate for my time in the incubator, deprived of human touch. My childhood hobbies of piano playing, jewelry-making, collaging, finger-painting, and even being nicknamed “shredder” for my impulsive behavior of tearing up the perimeters of any paper handouts I received in class, all point to what I call my “finger energy." This need to make sense of what often feels like an addiction has back-boned my life almost as much as the picking itself.

InTouchissue 82 | fall 2016

continued, page 6

Upcoming Eventspage 2

NIMH Partner Program, page 4

Getting to Know: Milcho, page 9

Skin Picking Picked Me...

I’m Picking It Right Back

Lauren Mckeaney is on a mission to raise awareness and inspire acceptance of skin picking disorder for sufferers, supporters, and educational communities. She has partnered with TLC to raise funding for research and educational programs. Here, Lauren shares her compelling story, and how she began "#pickingme over my BFRB."

2 InTouch www.bfrb.org

Upcoming EventsGet tickets and details to these events and

more at bfrb.org/events

Professional Training Institute: Houston, TXSeptember 29 - October 1, 2016A three-day, advanced clinical training, the PTI provides clinicians with practical training in current and effective cognitive-behavioral treatment approaches for these behaviors. Houston PTI faculty include Charles Mansueto, PhD, Ruth Golomb, LCPC, and Suzanne Mouton-Odum, PhD.

TLC and Picking Me Fundraiser: Chicago, ILSeptember 30, 2016Featuring Jon Grant, MD, JD, MPHTLC and the Picking Me Foundation (PMF) are teaming up in Chicago to raise critical funding for BFRB outreach programs! Join our ambassadors Lauren Mckeaney, Dana Marie Flores, and the always delightful Dr. Jon Grant, for an educational and FUN evening.

BFRB Awareness WeekOctober 1 - 7, 2016There are many ways to get involved during awareness week! Turn to the back page for more details.

Webinar: Correct your faulty thinking: Restructuring unhelpful thoughtsOctober 13, 2016Kimberley Quinlan, LMFT, discusses the relation between distorted and incorrect thoughts and the urges that drive BFRBs.

Workshop: Charlotte, NCOctober 29, 2016Suzanne Mouton-Odum, PhD, Andrea Umbach, PsyD, Joseph Parisi, PhD, and community leaders Josie Sanctis and Mackensie Freeman lead an agenda that will cover an overview of effective treatment options, creating a personalized plan for recovery, and support resources for teens, adults, and family members affected by BFRBS.

Visit bfrb.org for event information!

TLC Board of DirectorsJoanna Heitz, PresidentJosie Sanctis, SecretaryRahel Smith, SPHR-SCP, TreasurerJon E. Grant, JD, MD, MPH, SAB ChairChaille Percival DeFariaMarla Deibler, PsyDBrian HaslamAnn Hodges, PhDRobert McPherson, PhDRenae Reinardy, PsyD

StaffJennifer Raikes, Executive DirectorKelly Ernst, Program AssistantDana Hickerson, Office ManagerAlice M. Kelly, Membership Services/Accounting ManagerLeslie Lee, Programs & Communications DirectorCorinne Lightweaver, Annual Fund DirectorTara Peris, PhD, BPM DirectorFernanda Pini, Office Assistant Emily Ricketts, PhD, BPM Project ManagerBetsy Wootten, Administrative Support

Maddie Lapp, Intern Katherine Paris, Intern

TLC is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Contributions are tax-deductible. Our tax ID number is 77-0266587.

InTouch is a quarterly publication of The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors Articles and letters may be submitted to leslie@bfrb.org

Copyright © August 2016. All Rights Reserved.Text deadline next issue: October 31, 2016

The information in this newsletter is not intended to provide treatment for hair pulling or skin picking disorders. Appropriate treatment and advice should be obtained directly from a qualified and experienced doctor and/or mental health professional. The opinions expressed are those of the individual authors.

The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors' mission is to end the suffering caused by body-focused repetitive behaviors, including hair pulling disorder and skin picking disorder.

www.bfrb.org InTouch 3

News & Announcements2017 Conference: April 21-23, 2017 in St. Louis, MissouriNow is the time to submit your conference presentation proposal or secure a sponsorship promotion! Your participation in the annual conference supports life-changing connections between patients, families, support networks, services, and treatment providers. Contact us to find out how you can get involved!

Be a SponsorIf you are a treatment or counseling center, mental health professional, or hair or skin care professional, or you have a product or service that benefits people affected by BFRBs, offer resources for related disorders, or want to show your support for this community, please consider sponsoring or advertising at the annual conference! Contact leslie@bfrb.org to learn more.

Present a WorkshopClinicians, researchers, and community leaders are invited to submit proposals for a workshop, panel, or poster presentation at the only conference on BFRBs! Submission guidelines and other details are available at bfrb.org. Deadline to submit is October 31!

TLC Attends OCD Conference

TLC Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) members, Millennial Task Force members and staff represented BFRBs at the International Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Foundation (IOCDF) Annual Conference, held this past July in Chicago. SAB members presented several workshops, including treatment of BFRBs in adolescents and a BFRB Q & A for patients and treatment providers.

Task force members Maddie Lapp (left), TLC's summer intern, and Sophia Alapati (right), a former summer intern, joined TLC staffer Leslie Lee in the exhibit hall, where they spoke to hundreds of people and treatment providers. Staff, SAB members, and volunteers regularly present and exhibit at mental health-related conferences to support TLC's mission to educate treatment providers and patients on best practices treatment for BFRBs and TLC resources.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE on Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors

April 21-23, 2017 | St. Louis, MO

S P O N S O R | A D V E R T I S E | E X H I B I T

4 InTouch www.bfrb.org

For the past 10 years TLC Foundation for BFRBs has been a member of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Outreach Partnership Program. This program is a national initiative aimed at enhancing the dissemination of scientific mental health information to the public through partnerships with state and national organizations like TLC.

In July, BPM Project Manager Emily Ricketts, PhD, represented TLC at the NIMH Outreach Partnership Program annual meeting in Bethesda, Maryland. During the meeting partner organizations from across the nation united to hear the most up-to-date scientific findings and research trends pertaining to mental health, and share their ongoing educational and outreach activities.

Highlights included a discussion by Sarah Lisanby, MD, NIMH Director of Translational Research Division, and Unit on Noninvasive Neuromodulation regarding the growing number of innovative neurotechnological tools targeting brain plasticity and circuitry (e.g., transcranial magnetic stimulation) providing growing opportunities to research and treat brain-based conditions. Lawrence Park, M.D., Medical Director of the NIMH Experimental Therapeutics & Pathophysiology Research Branch, discussed advances in rapid-acting treatments for depression. Specifically he touched on the benefits on a drug called Ketamine, which has been associated with fast reductions in suicidal thoughts, relative to placebo, in patients with mood disorders (Diazgranados et al., 2010). Rezvan Ameli, PhD highlighted research showing the benefits of mindfulness at cellular, neurological, and behavioral levels of functioning.

Kristin Cadenhead, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at University of California, San Diego discussed advances in early identification and intervention of psychosis, risk prediction tools, and identification of pathophysiological mechanisms related to psychosis onset and the development of preventive precision treatments. Her hope is that if neurobiological assessment measures that help to specify treatment can be developed for use in clinical settings it would be possible to tailor patient care based on brain function, biological risk factors, and prediction of treatment response.

As we advance our BFRB Precision Medicine Initiative, partnerships like the NIMH Outreach program enable TLC to keep our community on the cutting edge of scientific advances in the mental health, and enables TLC to spread awareness of the importance of BFRB research, with the goal of increasing NIMH support for research in this field.

For more information about the NIMH Outreach Partnership Program, visit: nimh.nih.gov/outreach/partnership-program

2016 NIMH Outreach Partnership Program:Annual Meeting Highlights

Exhibitors share their mental health outreach efforts at the summer meeting of the NIMH Outreach Partnership Program.

"As we advance our BFRB Precision Medicine Initiative, partnerships like the NIMH Outreach

program enable TLC to keep our community on the cutting edge of

scientific advances in the mental health."

www.bfrb.org InTouch 5

Tools for Schools:Expert advice foreducators and patients oncoping with BFRBs in school

www.bfrb.org/toolsforschool

SAVE 20% WITH CODE SCHOOL16

NEW SENSORY TOOLS

NOW ON DVD:

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6 InTouch www.bfrb.org

Mental illness is often referred to as an invisible illness, except my scar-and-sore-riddled body renders it readable like braille. Skin picking has been the constant in my life. Flipping through old photo albums and seeing my six-year-old self speckled in red, polka-dot-like wounds reminds me of an old babysitter commenting that I was the kid whose mosquito bites lasted summer through winter.

Around that age I became aware that my skin, or rather my behavior with my skin, was different. Letters home from summer camp trumpeted my frustration, reading, “Mom. I hate this. It’s so not fair. I have 52 mosquito bites and now have 52 scars. Send stamps. - Lauren.” I followed that one with another the very next day, only stating, “53 - Lauren.” My first memory of satisfaction with picking was at camp as well. I remember wearing sweatpants the whole time, partly to avoid catty comments on my sores and partly because the sensation I got from letting the fuzzy material adhere to the scabs enhanced an internal and physical gratification I felt when picking them off.

At times my fingers seemed to have a mind of their own, roaming my body and picking off what didn’t belong. Something foreign would seem to be in control of me, and I was scared to express that. My

parents’ concern only grew as they tried everything they could to deter my picking to no avail. They would clip my fingernails to stubs, lather my hands in Vaseline and gloves, and cover every sore on my body with entire 50-count boxes of circular Band-Aids every night, in hopes that this phase would pass. Their well-intentioned, yet negatively-received, screams of “STOP PICKING!” only served to assure me that I was behaving badly and that my picking was upsetting my whole family, which reinforced my disdain for the word “pick.” That was in the '90s and a long way from the recognition of skin picking as a BFRB in 2013. Still, my Mom tried endlessly to seek out help from every type of treatment: prestigious PhDs, hypnotists, psychiatrists, dermatologists, herbalists, therapists, acupuncturists, even a co-worker’s-neighbor’s-great-grandmother-who-has-a-remedy-guaranteed-to-cure-any-ailment. But nothing worked. My family meant well in their efforts, but in my mind all that I existed as, was something that needed to be fixed.

As I grew up, an appearance-infatuated society offered me next-level ostracizing. Kids at Space Camp held my arms down to connect the dots (sores) on me to make constellations. Words like “gross” and “leper” were favorites of bullies. I started carrying concealer with me everywhere. Sleepovers required extra

I'm Picking It Right Back....continued

At events, conferences, and fundraisers, PMF encourages sufferers and supporters to share why they are #PickingMe. Left: Lauren educates International OCD Foundation conference attendees about skin picking disorder . Right: a collage of TLC conference attendees who shared why they are “#PickingMe over my BFRB” last April in Dallas.

www.bfrb.org InTouch 7

precautions: I packed Band-Aids and full-length PJs in case they had white sheets and I picked in my sleep. At home, I played up how cool my black sheets were and hid my Band-Aids and gloves before jokes could be made. Once my middle school nursed grabbed me during study hall to publicly interrogate me on why I wasn’t taking care of the infected sores she pointed out on my ankles. I never wore shorts again. In high school, I heard a rumor that I was self-harming, which was news to me. A college counselor pulled me in his office junior year after receiving a tip from a concerned classmate that the marks on my body were from a drug addiction. By now however, I knew how to handle this, and just smiled and laughed off how I had chiggers, or a rash, or the chicken pox, or whatever I pulled out of my array of excuses for my offending condition that particular day.

In fact, with sufficient confidence, and an answer for everything, I was able to appear fine and flourishing. The problem was, I was losing my grasp on my identity along with any measure of self-love. I became a master of deflection, rewriting my life events to ward off picking questions and ready with whatever reason I needed to change the subject.

Quitting figure skating at a highly competitive level was “something I just didn’t want to do anymore,” and not because I couldn’t take my tights down without pulling bloody scabs off with them. A summer in Tanzania became my explanation “for where all these pesky mosquito bite scars came from,” but not where I accomplished summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro. Once, in a locker room I profusely assured a health club manager that I was not contagious, it was an allergic reaction and I was sorry for making some of the other members uncomfortable, before I went and cried in the shower. My college thought a hospital stay was from an asthma attack when really I had cellulitis from picking and was on IV antibiotics. Often I would be dressed and out the door to work only to see my arm bleeding through my shirt, then heading back to change while thinking of an excuse for being late. My dating life, friendships, family, social-life, intimacy, and career—everything was affected by the front I put forth not to have to explain what I could not effectively explain.

I experienced all of this shame, hiding, and hampering of my self-growth while concurrently battling my picking compulsions. Sometimes I’d lose three hours of my day, stuck in a mirror, compelled to fix and finish what I had begun picking. I’d have bruised elbows from hunching

over mirrors for extended periods of time, strained tendons in my fingers from repeatedly squeezing at areas from unnatural angles, scratch marks and dried blood on my sides when I woke up in the morning. Tiny balls of bloody tissue peppered the bottom of my trash cans, and sometimes the floor around them, often with me only discovering the battleground that I had left behind the next day My finger scanning became part of my body language when I talked, picking at areas if I was excited about what I was sharing, or bored with what was happening around me. Mirrors became tantalizing, almost fun-house-esque. My body seemed to walk itself over to them no matter how much my internal voice knew better.

I felt terrible about myself. And then, the medical world finally seemed to catch up with me.

I was diagnosed with dermatillomania in 2013, thanks to the addition of excoriation (skin picking) disorder in the DSM-5. I felt like a human again. I finally received validation and an explanation! I had a word, a term, a name for it now after all these years! I even asked the doctor to say it again. Dermatillomania. It was funny word to say, but easy to break down what it could mean: Derma (skin) and Mania (madness). Suitable enough. Who was I kidding, I was ecstatic! I wanted a button and a t-shirt and a certificate all printed with this finally tangible illness on it. I was eager and ready to research everything about it, start some medication, go through the treatment and finally be cured of this behavior.

"My dating life, friendships, family, social-life, intimacy,

and career—everything was affected by the front I put forth to not have to explain what I could not

effectively explain."

8 InTouch www.bfrb.org

But, no. Devastatingly, I learned how misunderstood, under-reported and under-diagnosed this skin picking disorder was. It lacked medical studies, funding for research, and a cure. Many professionals had no idea of the disorder, but were usually familiar with its sister -and similarly named- disorder, trichotillomania, which itself only had a slim background in medical research. Worse was absorbing the stigma that the name dermatillomania carried, rendering it a “bad habit” in the medical world, not something that needed serious attention and funding. It wasn’t viewed as life pervasive, debilitating, or threatening. I was deflated and defeated, all over again. I felt like the medical world gave up on me and, worse, I gave up on myself.

In 2014 I was hospitalized from picking an area into an abscess - for the 6th time. Except on this visit I contracted the life-taking bacteria MRCA. I spent the next two weeks recovering in the hospital, after having eight inches of my inner thigh removed. I left the hospital in a wheel chair.

Over the next three months I transitioned from having an imbedded vacuum in my thigh, worn 24/7 like a purse, to a walker, to physical therapy. Ultimately, I moved to a new city where no one knew me or my array of excuses for my dermatillomania. It was there, in response to a random stranger’s innocent questioning of what had happened to my leg, that I experienced a new compulsion: to share the truth. And I haven’t shut up since.

Owning my dermatillomania made me feel whole, authentically and vibrantly like myself again. Each time I shared my BFRB, I started to take control from the controlling disorder. My self-acceptance grew when I talked about skin picking. I even began acknowledging moments I had just picked, which helped me love myself more. Now when I looked in the mirror, the pieces of my identity I thought I had lost began to take shape. In the new passion of sharing, I got to know myself as a mental health advocate and truly learned you can’t pick your purpose when it has picked you. I am proud and honored to announce the nonprofit I’ve founded, Picking Me Foundation (501c3).

Picking Me Foundation is dedicated to raising awareness and inspiring acceptance about skin picking disorder for sufferers, supporters, and educational communities

alike! I hope to change the connotation of “pick” for BFRB sufferers, to help patients and parents understand these behaviors are not their fault, and to educate the medical world on the dire need for research funding. Picking Me Foundation sends fiddle packs full of fidget toys and BFRB information to day cares, schools, and baby-sitting organizations in hopes of helping sufferers keep their finger energy off their bodies while engaging community leaders to start conversations about BFRBs early on.

Through our social media campaigns and interactive mental health booths we encourage sufferers to share why they are #PickingMe over their BFRB. We seek to help individuals understand they are more than their disorder. With each hashtag and story from fellow sufferers or supporters, I understand myself more and more, and I will be forever thankful for that. Even though my recovery and management is an ongoing journey, I’m happy I’ve finally picked ME over picking me, and plan to help those in need do the same.

I’m #PickingMe over my BFRB because my story isn’t over and I sure have a lot to say.

How about you?

Lauren McKeaney Picking Me Foundation, CEOTwitter: @_pickingmeFacebook: @pickingmeInstagram: @picking.meWebsite: www.pickingme.orgEmail: lauren@pickingme.org

UPCOMING PICKING ME FOUNDATION (PMF) EVENTSJoint PMF / TLC Fundraiser with Dr. Jon Grant Chicago, September 30 (tickets at bfrb.org/chicago: see page 2 for more info!)

OCD STL Awareness EventSt. Louis, MO, October 12th

Annual BFRB ConferenceSpeaker and ExhibitorSt. Louis, MOApril 21-23, 2017

I'm Picking It Right Back....continued

www.bfrb.org InTouch 9

"It began with a single stray strand of sun-streaked brown hair...." Veronica Milchorena, better known as Milcho, recalls of her first trichotillomania memory as a confused Salvadoran expatriate living with her aunt in tiny Oneida, Tennessee.

Today, Milcho is an accomplished media producer and well known in the Miami art and music scene. The El Salvadoran press consistently features her accomplishments, referring to her as a "superstar." We couldn't agree more. Her dynamic, no-shame approach is inspiring, refreshing, and invigorating. TLC Millennial Task Force member Mackensie Freeman, recently caught up with Milcho to learn more of her story.

How did you become involved with TLC?I became involved with TLC back in the 1990's. I think I might have seen something in a magazine or on TV, I can't remember — I wrote the organization to become a member and I began receiving their newsletters in the mail. It was very exciting to know that TLC existed and that I was not alone in this picking and pulling journey.

You keep your head shaved. Tell us about that.I shaved my head in 2010 and have been bald since. Making that decision was the hardest thing I've had to confront, but I knew I had to do it. In the days leading to the date I planned to shave my head, I had this sense of tremendous loss. But, I must say that I have never, ever liked myself more in my entire life until I shaved. I had struggled with self-image problems since I was a little girl and it took that act of "YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS OF ME ANYMORE" to finally look at myself in the mirror and think, "I LIKE YOU GIRL, I REALLY, REALLY LIKE YOU!" Now let's move on to the next great thing!

How do you raise awareness about BFRBs?Every time I'm interviewed, speak on a panel, at a school or any space where I have an audience, I take advantage of the situation (even if it has nothing to do with BFRBs) and give a little trich lesson! I believe that there's always at least one person in that room with me that pulls, or knows of someone who does. The minute I walk into a room or out in public people naturally wonder, 'why is that chick bald?' So I immediately clear the air from that distracting curiosity by adding into that air some knowledge & understanding about our condition. It's the perfect way to break the ice and move forward.

What is something you want people know about BFRBs?Having a BFRB does NOT make us weird, it does NOT make us ugly, it does NOT make us stupid, weak, un-fun or ignorant... It makes us HUMAN. We are MORE than our BFRB! MUCH MUCH MORE!!! Every living person has to do something to deal with stress, anxiety, depression and just the day-to-day. It's up to each and every one of us to decide how to best manage those feelings. I love working towards a better me every day and I love knowing that I can start all over again the next day if today was not as fluffy and cute as I would have liked.

You presented the past two years at the TLC Conference. Can you share something about your experience? The 2014 conference was the very first time I told my story to people who knew exactly what I was talking about. What a humanizing experience! I felt it was my responsibility to tell my fellow BFRBers my story, in my own artsy, humorous way. I can only wish to have the privilege to present again next year and keep meeting and connecting with the beautiful BFRB community!

Watch Milcho's videos and interviews at

www.milcho.com

TLC Community: Getting to Know Milcho

Trichotillomania activist, media producer, and artist, Milcho, has made it her mission for the last 23+ years to educate others about trich and BFRBs at every opportunity.

10 InTouch www.bfrb.org

Letter from the Executive DirectorJennifer RaikesLos Angeles, CAJennifer@bfrb.org

S T R O N G T O G E T H E ROFFICIAL BFRB AWARENESS MERCH

store.bfrb.org

I’m grateful for Facetime, and all the technology that

helps erase the distance between us, but every

moment of face-to-face time is precious.

Dear Friends,

I just got back to Los Angeles after my annual East Coast

pilgrimage. Every July, I bring my two girls “home” to Connecticut to visit their grandparents, aunts, and cousins… and I sneak in as many visits with TLC members as I can, too.

This summer’s whirlwind tour also brought me to Massachusetts General Hospital to meet with Darin Dougherty, MD, one of the devoted scientists helping lead our BPM Initiative. And to Chicago, to attend the International OCD Foundation’s annual conference and connect with the OCD world.

It is never enough – never enough family time, and never enough time to reach out to all the dedicated supporters of this organization as I’d wish. I’m grateful for Facetime, and all the technology that helps erase the distance between us, but every moment of face-to-face time is precious.

The highlight of the trip for me was attending a party celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the New York City TLC Support Group. Sixteen of us, from every era of the group, crammed into a tiny Chinese restaurant to celebrate the occasion this July.

As I entered the party, it was hard to believe that I hadn’t attended the group since I left NYC ten years ago. It had been a touchstone for me, every Tuesday evening, during

the decade I spent as a young documentary filmmaker in the city. The friendships I made in that group are remarkably strong. A surprising number of the women celebrating with me that evening had attended my wedding ten years earlier. Including me, there were THREE past presidents of TLC’s Board of Directors in the room – each of us having met and drawn the next into deeper service to this community.

The “baby” of our group, Briana, was just 18 yrs old, on her own in the Big Apple pursuing her Broadway dreams, when she first came to group. Now she was walking towards me on Third Avenue, happily married, nine months pregnant with her own baby.

Bridget Mills serves as the symbol of supreme dedication to her recovery. She commuted 2.5 hrs each way from Brigantine, New Jersey, to attend the group every Tuesday night for ten years. Her name is still invoked

www.bfrb.org InTouch 11

as a powerful guilt trip for anyone complaining about trekking to the Upper East Side. And here she was, smiling her cheeky smile– she made the commute once again! And the dedicated treatment providers Laura Sirowitz and Merrill Black. And Midge, Marion, and Margot! So many of my dear “old timers” – and half the room full of wonderful newer members: Deborah, Amy, and Ayla. Samara Sussman has served as the bridge between eras – working with Amy Curcio, Libby Gordon and now Sam Adler to keep the group going and growing for the past decade.

I would never have found these friendships without TLC. And today, new friendships are born each week in the same group. What struck me most was the similarity of the stories we shared as we each introduced ourselves around the table. So many of us learned about TLC after years of living alone with BFRBs… yet then waited years more before actually reaching out for help. The fear and hopelessness we felt about our pulling or picking was paralyzing. Yet person after person described how, having mustered the courage and will to attend, they now cherished the group. That it had changed their life.

I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has participated in the group – numbering in the hundreds of women and dozens of men over the past two decades – and particularly to the devoted women who have taken an active role in organizing and maintaining the group for all of us, all these years. The NYC TLC group is far from the only long-lasting support group for BFRBs. Since our very beginning, TLC has been dedicated to helping people start, maintain, and find local support groups.

I encourage you to overcome any inertia or hopelessness you feel and reach out to a group near you – or create one. TLC has many ways to help you get started.

The last event of my East Coast trip was a two-day Board of Directors meeting to develop TLC’s strategic plan for the next three years. One of the big themes was how to strengthen our local programs to expand the opportunities for transformative personal connections. I look forward to sharing more about the plan in the December InTouch, but if you are interested in experiencing deeper face-to-face connections, there is no need to wait. I encourage you to reach out for the “TLC” you need right now.

With love,Jennifer Raikes

Ways to Connect:How to find "TLC" locally and onlineAttend a support group meeting, or join an online groupFind regional and online groups, or join a TLC email support group at bfrb.org/support

New groups are forming now!Kalamazoo, MI: Kids & Teens GroupParents should contact Sara at evanssa6@msu.edu

Durham, NC: Adult BFRB GroupVisit Facebook.com/bfrbdurham for details

Rocky Rover, OH: Adult BFRB GroupVisit http://bit.ly/2bIq69D for details

Start a support groupTLC offers articles, videos and handouts with all the info you need to start your own local support group. When you're ready to announce your new group, we'll help you promote your first few meetings. Visit bfrb.org/startagroup for more info.

Connect on social mediaFacebook offers dozens of support groups, some private, some completely secret. Search Facebook for trichotillomania, dermatillomania, or BFRB groups. A few of our favorites are:

For Parents: www.facebook.com/groups/TrichyParenting

For skin picking:www.facebook.com/groups/2213187823

For hair pulling:www.facebook.com/groups/TrichotillomaniaHope

Follow @TLCBFRB on your favorite social media channel to connect wih the vibrant BFRB community.

Share this videoVisit bfrb.org/aware and help spread the word about the emotional impact caused by BFRBs. For this project, the Millennial Task Force teamed up with Jillian Corsie, producer of the documentary, Trichster, to create a video that demonstrates the emotional distress so often caused by BFRBs, and help people who do not have a BFRB to better understand the impact of this disorder.

Give a presentation locallyYou can make a difference in your own town! Give a presentation at your school or for a community group, and contact school counselors, therapists, physicians, and dermatologists in your area. Your efforts could result in a new support group, training and educating local treatment providers and cosmetologists, or educating school personnel. Local outreach brings people together and breaks the stigma surrounding BFRBs. Get the Speaker's Kit at bfrb.org/ambassadors.

Educate Therapists, Teachers, Cosmetologists,and DermatologistsOrder BFRB Awareness kits and educate local therapists, educational professionals, cosmetologists, and dermatologists, and salons about BFRBs. Each kit contains 10 cover letters, 10 brochures, and 10 envelopes. Just fold, stuff, seal and stamp! Kits are available at store.bfrb.org for $9.95 each (fee covers printing and shipping costs).

DONATE VOLUNTEER CONNECT

# B F R B W E E K

EVENTSSept. 25 - Brighton, UKMeet the Artist: Liz Atkin Skin Picking AmbassadorFree, for details, visitcreativefuture.org.uk/events/liz-atkin-meet-artist for details

Sept. 30 - ChicagoTLC and Picking Me Foundation Fundraiserw/ Jon Grant, MD$125 per personbfrb.org/chicago for details

Facebook Live Chatsat facebook.com/tlcbfrbJoin Millennial Task Force and Board members for live chats during awareness week!

• Ask the Doctor with Dr. Marla Deibler

• BFRB Q & A with Mackensie Freeman

• Make-up, Hair Tips, Skin Care with Jessica Jones

• Parenting FAQ with Paula & Katie Koppel

• Talking to Others About BFRBs with Sera Torregiano

• Coping strategies for BFRB Urges with Claire Cameron

Check facebook.com/tlcbfrb or bfrb.org/BFRBweek for dates and times.

Get Involved

#BFRBweek: Oct. 1-7, 2016

Visit bfrb.org or find us on social media @tlcbfrb