CompletedNCT02044237Updated May 10, 2016

Online Treatment of Trichotillomania

An interventional study of Decoupling and Progressive relaxation in Trichotillomania, Alexithymia and Quality of Life, sponsored by University of Zurich. Completed at 1 site in Switzerland. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2016-05-10.

Sponsored by University of Zurich · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase: Not applicable
Study type: Interventional
Enrollment: 105
Allocation: Randomized
Ages: 18 Years to 65 Years
Sex: All

Study summary

Online study for patients with trichotillomania. 4 main hypothesis.

Alexithymia and Trichotillomania correlated and regression analyses find association between them
we will be able to find patient who have never been treated before. Those will suffer to the same amount as previously treated patients
Decoupling will be more helpful than progressive muscle relaxation
different constructs of emotion regulation will show different trait and state characteristics in patients with trichotillomania

Read the detailed description

Randomized controlled trial with about 100 participants.

Conditions studied

Trichotillomania
Alexithymia
Quality of Life

Browse trials for

Keywords

trichotillomania
online therapy

In context

Trichotillomania

47 studies on the registry are indexed under Trichotillomania; 8 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 105 is above the median of 39 across 45 interventional studies indexed under Trichotillomania.

Browse Trichotillomania studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Zurich is the lead sponsor of 1,048 studies on the registry; 131 are open to participants now.

Browse University of Zurich studies →

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

Who can participate

Ages eligible: 18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible: All
Accepts healthy volunteers: No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

suffering from trichotillomania 18 to 65 years old

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

current drug or alcohol addiction current psychosis

Study design

Phase: Not applicable
Primary purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel assignment
Masking: Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment: 105 participants (actual)

Study arms

Experimental
Decoupling
specific technic to reduce hair pulling
Behavioral: Decoupling
Active comparator
progressive muscle relaxation
Progressive relaxation relaxation technic
Behavioral: Progressive relaxation

Interventions

BehavioralDecoupling
BehavioralProgressive relaxation

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

Severity of trichotillomania
Time frame: 7 months

Secondary outcomes

alexithymia
Time frame: 7 months

Other outcomes

Quality of life
Time frame: 7 months

Study locations

1 site

University of
Zurich, Switzerland

References and documents

Publications

Moritz S, Treszl A, Rufer M. A randomized controlled trial of a novel self-help technique for impulse control disorders: a study on nail-biting. Behav Modif. 2011 Sep;35(5):468-85. doi: 10.1177/0145445511409395. Epub 2011 Jun 8. PubMed 21659318 ↗

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026

Not marked actual or estimatedDates not marked actual or estimated

The record gives a start of Aug 2011, a primary completion of Jul 2013 and a completion of Dec 2014. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered: Jan 21, 2014
First posted: Jan 23, 2014
Start: Aug 2011
Primary completionActual: Jul 2013
CompletionActual: Dec 2014
Last update: May 10, 2016

What these dates mean

Start.: When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.: When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.: When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.: Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.

No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 10, 2016, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Registry details

Key details

Study ID: NCT02044237
Lead sponsor: University of Zurich
Collaborators: Novartis, Julia Bangerter-Rhyner Foundation Bale switzerland
Responsible party: Sponsor
First posted: Jan 23, 2014
Start date: Aug 2011
Primary completion: Jul 2013
Completion: Dec 2014
Last update: May 10, 2016

Study contacts

Michael Rufer, MD, Prof

principal investigator · University of Zurich

Oversight

Data monitoring committee: No

View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in May 2016. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Other studies in this condition

Trichotillomania →

Other studies from this sponsor

University of Zurich →

Start the discussion