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

Nadel, M. H., Chamberlain, J., & Haaga, D. A. F. (2026). Unconditional Self-acceptance in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 44(2), 21.

Nadel, M. H., Rogers, K., Hadlock, S., Schuler, E. R., & Haaga, D. A. F. (2025). Impact of Switching to an Inhibitory Learning Approach to Exposure Therapy on Outcomes of an Intensive Outpatient Program. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 81(12), 1231–1243.

Gustaveson, J. J., Laky, Z. E., Kelley, K. N., & Haaga, D. A. F. (2025). What do therapists with prior experience treating trichotillomania do differently? Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 89(3), 194–213.

Nadel, M. H., Haaga, D. A. F., & Chamberlain, J. (2025). Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ). In O. N. Medvedev, C. U. Krägeloh, R. J. Siegert, & N. N. Singh (Eds.), Handbook of Assessment in Mindfulness Research (pp. 1–12). Springer Nature Switzerland.

Carlson, E. J., Malloy, E. J., Grant, J., & Haaga, D. A. (2024). Neurocognitive Test Performance in relation to symptom severity and age of onset of trichotillomania. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 42, 100892.