NU672 Unit 8 Treatment Plan for Trichotillomania Example

Course	NU672 PMHNP Psychotherapy for Individuals, Groups, and Families Clinical
Unit	Unit 8
Paper type	Treatment plan
Length	About 870 words, 6 pages double-spaced
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Purdue University Global
Program	MSN
Updated	September 2026

Free sample paper for NU672 Unit 8

Three Goals, Each From the Model: A Treatment Plan for Trichotillomania in a 26-Year-Old Municipal Planning Assistant

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

NU672: PMHNP Psychotherapy for Individuals, Groups, and Families Clinical

Unit 8 Treatment Plan

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The client is composite; scores, counts and dates are bracketed.

What this part is doingThe plan states its rule at the start: every goal must come from the model, not from a list of techniques.

Presenting Problem

Ms. [F.] is a [26]-year-old planning assistant for a city government. She began pulling hair at [13], during her parents' divorce. She pulls from the crown of her head and her eyebrows, usually without noticing at first, most often while reading long documents at her desk and while lying in bed scrolling on her phone. She also pulls deliberately when she feels a hair is "wrong," examining the root before discarding it. She has a thinning patch about [4] cm across at the crown and wears a hat on bad weeks. She feels ashamed and has told no one except her partner. She meets criteria for trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder). She has no other psychiatric diagnosis besides mild depressive symptoms, which she links to the shame.

Baseline measures: Massachusetts General Hospital Hair Pulling Scale score [19]; self-monitored pulling episodes averaging [11] per day over one week, with about [70] percent at the desk or in bed.

The Model Behind the Plan

Behavioral models of trichotillomania describe pulling as a learned behavior maintained by its consequences. Some pulling is automatic, occurring outside awareness in particular settings and postures. Some is focused, occurring deliberately in response to urges, tension or sensations. Pulling is reinforced by relief of tension or by sensory satisfaction, and it is cued by settings, hand positions and emotional states. Habit reversal training targets this cycle through awareness training, a competing response and social support, and newer approaches add stimulus control and acceptance-based work for urges.

Behavior therapy has the strongest evidence for this disorder. A meta-analysis found a large pooled effect for behavior therapy on hair-pulling severity, larger with more therapeutic contact hours and with added mood-focused techniques, and a moderate effect for serotonin reuptake inhibitors (McGuire et al., 2014).

Goal 1: Catch the Pull Before It Happens

From the model: automatic pulling occurs outside awareness, so awareness is the first target. Goal: within [six] weeks, Ms. [F.] will notice at least [80] percent of pulling episodes at or before the moment her hand reaches her hair, measured by her daily log compared with a weekly count of hairs collected in an envelope. Methods: self-monitoring of each episode with time, place, posture, feeling and number of hairs; awareness training in session, in which she practices describing the movement of her hand toward her head in slow motion; a wrist band that vibrates if her hand rises above her shoulder at her desk. Review: week [6].

Goal 2: Replace the Pull

From the model: once a pull is noticed, a competing response that is incompatible with pulling interrupts the chain and weakens the habit. Goal: by week [12], reduce average daily pulling episodes from [11] to [three] or fewer, and reduce the hair pulling scale score by at least [40] percent. Methods: competing response training, in which she clenches her fists or holds a textured object for one minute whenever she notices the urge or the hand movement; stimulus control, including gloves or a fidget toy while reading reports, reading documents on a stand rather than with her hand at her head, and no phone in bed; practice of these responses in session and between sessions. Evidence: in a small randomized trial, acceptance and commitment therapy combined with habit reversal reduced pulling severity, impairment and hairs pulled compared with a waitlist, with gains largely maintained at three months (Woods et al., 2006). Review: week [8] and week [12].

Goal 3: Tolerate the Urge Without Acting

From the model: focused pulling is driven by urges and uncomfortable sensations, and trying to suppress them can make them stronger. Goal: by week [12], on at least [five] of seven days, Ms. [F.] will ride out urges she rates at [six] out of ten or stronger, without pulling, recorded in her log. Methods: acceptance-based urge work, noticing the urge and the thought that a hair is "wrong" without acting on it, practiced first in session with her hand resting on a table; mood-focused strategies for evenings when she feels tense.

Each of the three goals answers a different link in the chain: awareness for the pulls she does not notice, a competing response for the pulls she does, and urge tolerance for the pulls she chooses. Review: week [12].

What this part is doingThe highlighted sentence shows how the three goals divide the behavior between them, which is the logic of the plan.

Medication

If behavioral treatment produces less than a [30] percent reduction in the scale score by week [12], N-acetylcysteine will be discussed. In a placebo-controlled trial in adults, [56] percent of those taking N-acetylcysteine were much or very much improved compared with [16] percent on placebo, and the drug was well tolerated (Grant et al., 2009). Its evidence base is smaller than that of behavior therapy.

Support and Shame

With her consent, her partner will join one session to learn how to prompt her gently when he sees her hand move, and to praise the competing response rather than criticize pulling. The mild depressive symptoms will be monitored with a brief scale every [four] weeks.

What this part is doingInvolving her partner turns a private habit into something she can be supported with, which also addresses the shame that keeps her from seeking help.

References

Grant, J. E., Odlaug, B. L., & Kim, S. W. (2009). N-acetylcysteine, a glutamate modulator, in the treatment of trichotillomania: A double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 66(7), 756-763. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.60

McGuire, J. F., Ung, D., Selles, R. R., Rahman, O., Lewin, A. B., Murphy, T. K., & Storch, E. A. (2014). Treating trichotillomania: A meta-analysis of treatment effects and moderators for behavior therapy and serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 58, 76-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2014.07.015

Woods, D. W., Wetterneck, C. T., & Flessner, C. A. (2006). A controlled evaluation of acceptance and commitment therapy plus habit reversal for trichotillomania. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(5), 639-656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.05.006

What the NU672 Unit 8 assignment asks for

For Unit 8 you write a treatment plan for a client with a specific disorder. Prompts usually require a presenting problem with baseline measures, the model or formulation behind the plan, measurable goals with methods and target dates, the evidence for the chosen treatment, and provisions for medication, support or referral as needed. Three to five pages is common. Graders reward plans in which every goal can be traced to the model and every target can be measured. Plans that include a baseline, a clear review date and a step to take if progress stalls score higher than those that describe therapy in general terms. Involving supports, where the client agrees, is often expected.

How the NU 672 Unit 8 example is put together

The plan opens with her history, her pulling sites and settings, and two baseline measures: a hair pulling scale score of 19 and about 11 episodes a day. The model section describes automatic and focused pulling, the reinforcement that maintains them and the habit reversal approach, with the meta-analysis on behavior therapy. Three goals follow in the same format of model link, goal, methods and review, with the Woods trial beside the second. A highlighted sentence explains how the goals divide the behavior between them. A medication section sets a threshold for discussing N-acetylcysteine and gives its trial results. A final section involves her partner and monitors mood.

NU672 Unit 8 rubric: what earns full points

Treatment plans are usually scored on assessment and baselines, the link between model and goals, measurability, evidence and practicality. The assessment row rewards a clear presenting problem with numbers that later progress can be compared against. The link row earns full points when each goal names the part of the model it targets. For measurability, graders check that a log, a scale or a simple count would show whether each target was met. Evidence points go to trials and meta-analyses matched to the disorder. Practicality credit depends on methods the client can use in her real settings, such as her desk at work and her bed at night. Accurate citations for each trial are expected.

Common NU672 Unit 8 mistakes, and how to avoid them

The most common error is writing goals as techniques, such as "learn habit reversal," instead of outcomes. Another is skipping awareness training, when much pulling happens without the person noticing. Students often use a single competing response without changing the settings that cue pulling. Some plans ignore focused pulling driven by urges. Others start medication first, although behavior therapy has the stronger evidence. And plans that never mention shame miss a major reason clients hide the disorder, so name it and plan for it with the client's agreement, including who, if anyone, she wants involved in her support. Build the plan with her, not for her.

Get an NU672 Unit 8 example written to your instructions

Tell us the presentation and modality your NU672 Unit 8 case involves and the plan format your site or section expects, goal table, narrative or template, and attach the rubric. The first plan is free within 24-48h, each goal measurable, dated and traced to the model component it follows from. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

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NU672 Unit 8 questions, answered

Should every goal use the same therapy model?

Usually, when one model fits the formulation, since mixing approaches without a rationale confuses the plan. Some presentations justify integration, such as adding family sessions to individual work, and then each goal should say which model it follows from and why. What graders mark down is eclecticism with no explanation of how the parts fit together.

Does the plan need the client's signature?

Real treatment plans typically carry the client's and clinician's signatures, and in a practicum the supervisor's as well. Those signatures, and the plan you actually carry out, are for you, your client and your supervisor to complete. A sample shows where each signature goes and leaves the lines empty, since it is built on a composite client.

Where can I find a free NU672 Unit 8 sample paper?

This page gives the full NU672 Unit 8 treatment plan for trichotillomania, with baselines, the behavioral model, three goals with methods and reviews, a medication step and a support plan, plus three references. A plan for your own client can be drafted to your prompt.

How effective is behavior therapy for trichotillomania in NU672 Unit 8?

A meta-analysis found a large pooled effect for behavior therapy on hair-pulling severity, larger with more contact hours and with added mood-focused techniques, and a moderate effect for serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

When does the NU672 Unit 8 plan consider medication?

If behavioral treatment reduces the hair pulling scale score by less than 30 percent by week 12, N-acetylcysteine will be discussed. In a placebo-controlled trial, 56 percent improved much or very much on the drug compared with 16 percent on placebo.