The BFPA Resource Center
Most people dealing with skin picking, hair pulling, and nail biting have never been offered treatment designed for addiction. We offer education, individualized treatment, and a supportive online community.
Chaille DeFariaMCC, DWTFKaren PickettLMFT
What are BFPAs?
A Body Focused Process Addiction (BFPA™) is a type of behavioral addiction that includes behaviors commonly referred to as Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs).
Skin picking
Also called dermatillomania or excoriation.
Hair pulling
Also called trichotillomania.
Nail biting
And related behaviors.
Framing these behaviors as addictions opens up treatment approaches drawn from addiction research. That framing accounts for the role dopamine and other neurotransmitters play in the cycle of urge, action, and relief. Read more about the BFPA framework →
Self-assessment
A nine-question self-assessment developed by Chaille and Karen to help you reflect on whether what you're experiencing might be a BFPA. It is not a diagnosis or a substitute for clinical evaluation, and your answers stay in your browser.
The founders
Chaille and Karen are experienced clinicians who specialize in behavioral addiction, BFRB treatment, and related mental health conditions. Together they developed the BFPA framework to better support people whose experiences didn't fit existing treatment models.
Co-founder · Mental Health Consultant · ICF Master Certified Coach
Chaille DeFaria is a Mental Health Consultant and ICF Master Certified Coach (MCC) who specializes in helping people heal from BFPAs™ (Body-Focused Process Addictions). Her work also focuses on increasing awareness of the ways behavioral addiction can be intertwined with anxiety, perfectionism, and shame.
Co-founder · Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
Karen Pickett, LMFT, is a licensed psychotherapist and co-founder of the BFPA™ Resource Center. She specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders and Body Focused Process Addictions (BFPAs™), including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Skin Picking Disorder, and Trichotillomania. As an expert in behavioral addiction, Karen is a Certified Trauma and Addiction therapist and a former member of the TLC Foundation for BFRBs Board of Directors. She has been featured as a psychotherapist on A&E's series Obsessed, served as faculty in counseling psychology at USM, and held the position of Clinical Director at the OCD Center of Los Angeles. Karen has also co-produced three performances of This Is My Brave™, a live show aimed at ending the stigma surrounding mental illness.
The community
The BFPA Resource Center hosts an online community on Circle for people dealing with BFPAs and their loved ones. Inside, members find guidance from Chaille and Karen, resources on BFRB treatment, and a path toward the Rumbling with Imperfection five-week course.
From the blog
Writing from Chaille and Karen on body-focused process addictions, behavioral addiction, and related mental health topics.