Atopic Skin Disease – The Manual for Practitioners (1996) has a list of recommended References and Further Reading in Appendix 9, pp161-162
Listed below are more recent references. Please share with us your additional suggestions.
Anderson V. A case study on effective use of habit reversal in adult eczema management. Dermatological Nursing. 2017 Sep 1;16(3).
Arora, S. Taylor, R. Sohanpal, R. Taylor, S.J.C. Bewley, A. Mohandas, P. & Steed, L. PS05 Exploring factors influencing implementation of an itch–scratch intervention for people with eczema: the END-ITCH study, British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 191, Issue Supplement_1, July 2024, Pages i177–i178, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjd/ljae090.376
Bewley, A. Habit reversal therapy quickly and significantly contributes to the management of children with atopic eczema, British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 178, Issue 3, 1 March 2018, Pages 584–585, https://doi.org/10.1111/bjd.16260
Bridgett C. Psychodermatology and atopic skin disease in London 1989–1999 – helping patients to help themselves. Dermatol Psychosomat 2000; 1:183–186
Bridgett C, Ogoo I. Habit reversal for habitual scratching in younger children with atopic eczema. Dermatological Nursing. 2013 Sep 15;12(3):28-30.
Bridgett C. Habit reversal therapy: a behavioural approach to atopic eczema and other skin conditions. In: Practical Psychodermatology (Bewley A Taylor RE, Reichenberg JS Magid M eds). Chichester: Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2014; 66–71
Bridgett C & Norén P Atopic Eczema in the Elderly: A Behavioural Approach Chp10 pp105 -112 in Ed’s. Jafferany M & França K Geriatric Psychodermatology 2015 Nova Biomedical New York
Bridgett C. & Norén P. Stress and Atopic Dermatitis Chapter14 pp119-125 in Stress and the Skin Ed’s.: França, K. & Jafferany M. Springer. 2016.
Bridgett, C. Norén, P. Staughton, R. The Combined Approach to Atopic Eczema Chapter 9, pp119-129 in Katlein França MD, PhD, Torello Lotti MD, Editors: Advances in Integrative Dermatology 2019
Buchanan, P.I. Behaviour Modification: A Nursing Approach for Young Children With Atopic Eczema, Dermatology Nursing; Pitman Vol.13, Iss. 1,(Feb 2001): 15-23; quiz 24-25
Chida Y, Steptoe A, Hirakawa N, Sudo N, Kubo C. The effects of psychological
intervention on atopic dermatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
International archives of allergy and immunology. 2007 Apr 20;144(1):1-9.
Dunbar A.B. Magid M. Reichenberg J.S. Habit reversal training for body-focused repetitive behaviours: a practical guide for the dermatologist G Ital Dermatol Venereol 2018 Aug;153(4):557-566
Daunton A, Bridgett C. Goulding J.M.R. Habit reversal for refractory atopic dermatitis: a review. British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 174, Issue 3, 1 March 2016, Pages 657– 659, https://doi.org/10.1111/bjd.14176
Daunton A, Goulding J.M.R. Comment on: “When does atopic dermatitis warrant systemic therapy? Recommendations from an expert panel of the International Eczema Council” Jam Acad Dermatol August 2018 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2018.01.053
Goulding, J. M., Harper, N., Kennedy, L., & Martin, K. R. (2017). Cost-effectiveness in Psychodermatology: A Case Series. Acta Dermato-Venereologica, 97(5), 663–664. https://doi.org/10.2340/00015555-2620
Gouin O, Misery L. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin, protease‐activated receptor 2 and interleukin 1 are involved in the relationship between skin irritation and atopic dermatitis. Br J Dermatol 2020; 182:14–15
Grillo M, Long R, Long D. Habit reversal training for the itch-scratch cycle associated with pruritic skin conditions. Dermatology Nursing. 2007 Jun 1;19(3):243.
Hedman-Lagerlöf, E., Bergman, A., Lindefors, N., & Bradley, M. (2018). Exposure-based cognitive behavior therapy for atopic dermatitis: an open trial. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 48(4), 300–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2018.1504320
Kreutz JR, Jafarian F. Habit reversal therapy: an under utilised treatment for atopic dermatitis. Cureus. 2024, Nov. 20:16:11 e74095
Moritz S, Fricke S, Treszl A, Wittekind CE. Do it yourself! Evaluation of self-help habit reversal training versus decoupling in pathological skin picking: A pilot study. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders. 2012 Jan 1;1(1):41-7.
Nakahara, T., Noto, S., Matsukawa, M. et al. Habitual Scratching in Atopic Dermatitis and Its Association with Disease Severity: Findings from Japanese Health Insurance Claims and App-Based Data. Dermatology and Therapy (Heidelberg). 2025. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13555-025-01525-9 (Accessed: 13 Oct 2025).
P. Norén, L. Hagströmer, M. Alimohammadi, L. Melin, The positive effects of habit reversal treatment of scratching in children with atopic dermatitis: a randomized controlled study, British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 178, Issue 3, 1 March 2018, Pages 665–673, https://doi.org/10.1111/bjd.16009
Redhu D, Franke K, Kumari V et al. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin production induced by skin irritation results from concomitant activation of protease‐activated receptor 2 and interleukin pathways. Br J Dermatol 2020; 182:119–29.
Shah, R. Habit Reversal Therapy. In: Bewley, A., Lepping, P., Taylor, R. (eds)
Psychodermatology in Clinical Practice. 2021. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/
10.1007/978-3-030-54307-5_28
Simpson, E. L. et al When does atopic dermatitis warrant systemic therapy?
Recommendations from an expert panel of the International Eczema Council Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Volume 77, Issue 4 P623-633 October 2017
Simpson, Eric L. et al. Response to “Comment on: ‘When does atopic dermatitis warrant systemic therapy? Recommendations from an expert panel of the International Eczema Council’” Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Volume 79, Issue 2, e25 – e26 August 2018
Singleton H, Hodder A, Almilaji O, Ersser SJ, Heaslip V, O’Meara S, Boyers D, Roberts A, Scott H, Van Onselen J, Doney L, Boyle RJ, Thompson AR. Educational and psychological interventions for managing atopic dermatitis (eczema). Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024 Aug 12;8(8):CD014932. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD014932.pub2.PMID:39132734; PMCID:PMC11318083.
R.C.D. Staughton, R.C.D. C.K. Bridgett, P. Norén, J.M.R. Goulding, A. Affleck, S. Walsh, Habitual scratching amplifies and perpetuates atopic dermatitis, British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 183, Issue 2, 1 August 2020, Page 403, https://doi.org/10.1111/bjd.19049
Tsakok T, Roberts E, Bridgett C, et al. The effectiveness of habit reversal on treatment outcome and quality of life in patients with chronic eczema: a prospective observational study in the United Kingdom. B J Dermatol 2017; 117:554‐6.
Williams H (2011) Acting on the evidence Nature 479 s16
Zhong W, Li W, Wu G. Are behavioral interventions a better choice for atopic dermatitis patients? A meta-analysis of 6 randomized controlled trials. Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia. 2024 Jul 22;99(4):503-12.
Dr Christopher Bridgett for Psychodermatology UK. October, 2025
Image by Oli Götting.
