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Christina Pearson is the woman who established the world’s first center for BFRBs (The TLC Foundation for BFRBs) in 1990, and worked hard to give this realm of human suffering a voice. She grew up struggling terribly with both hair pulling and skin picking, and has worked with thousands of sufferers and their families to develop greater self awareness, learn effective living skills and establish interpersonal boundaries, all in the service of reducing unwanted BFRBs.
Christina has an extensive list of accomplishments in this field. She has advocated relentlessly for BFRBs, worked in alliance with the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and other national organizations, was participatory in the DSM-5 committees’ updating and revising of the DSM-4 manual which renamed certain disorders and created new classifications (along with updating the criteria for trichotillomania), been interviewed on national television talk shows, brought together the scientific advisory board that developed best practices for treatment modalities, and much more. Christina has nearly three decades of strong BFRB recovery herself and possesses the tools to share the daily living skills which keep her on track.
Renae Reinardy, PsyD is a Licensed Psychologist and Director of the Lakeside Center for Behavioral Change. Dr. Reinardy specializes in the treatment of Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, OCD, Hoarding Disorder, Tic Disorders, and related conditions. She is the co-author of The BFRB Recover Workbook: Effective Recovery from Hair pulling, Skin Picking, Nail Biting and Other Body-focused Repetitive Behaviors.
She is the Program Developer of CourageCritters.com, a skills-focused online and plush animal system. Dr. Reinardy serves on the BTTI Faculty for the International OCD Foundation. She is an advocate for childhood mental health and a Delegate to the United Nations CSW.
Pavitt is a trainee psychotherapist providing treatment for those with obsessive compulsive and related disorders, body focused repetitive behaviours (such as compulsive skin picking, hair pulling and nail biting), anxiety, depression and other related disorders. Pavitt is currently studying for an MSc in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy at the University of London and has completed an MSc in Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, UK.
Over the last decade, she has worked with over 2,400 individuals with highly sensitive nervous systems, including individuals challenged with autism, ADHD, anxiety, hair pulling, skin picking, OCD, and addiction.
Sera Fernandez (Torregiano), 29, began to pull her hair at age 7. She met Christina soon after and later attended her first retreat at the age of 13. Around that time, Sera also began picking her skin. In college, Sera did an interview with HuffPost Live about BFRBs and has since been a public advocate for BFRB awareness through social media, writing, and academic presentations. Sera is from Saratoga Springs, NY and currently lives in Fort Worth, TX, where she is completing her predoctoral internship in clinical psychology. Sera holds two master’s degrees in psychology and expects to earn her doctorate in 2026. She is a mother of two boys, ages 5 and 1.
Dr. Christy Garner is passionate about finding the simplest tools that make the biggest difference for people in achieving health and happiness. She earned her natural science degree from the College of St. Benedict. Following her passion for holistic medicine, she received her doctor of chiropractic degree from Northwestern Health Sciences University. Her post-doctorate focus has been in the field of epigenetics – expanding her knowledge base in the areas where individuals have influence over the expression of their genes, namely detoxification, nutrition, and stress adaptation.
Over the last decade, she has worked with over 2,400 individuals with highly sensitive nervous systems, including individuals challenged with autism, ADHD, anxiety, hair pulling, skin picking, OCD, and addiction.
She offers a unique blend of head and heart as she combines her clinical knowledge and training with her personal experience and real-life navigation of living with Trichotillomania and Dermatillomania since age 9. She believes that attaining and maintaining vibrant health comes from reconnection ... from reconnecting with our innate ability to heal, to each other, and to the limitless healing power of the Earth (and maybe cute farm animals).
Shannon Dean, MA, PPS, is a credentialed counselor at a high school in southern California. She obtained her master's degree in educational counseling in 2021. She has been attending BFRB retreats and conferences as a participant since 2006 and as a presenter since 2011.
Shannon has learned from her own experiences with hair pulling to find a sense of healing and recovery that includes incorporating skills she learned from attending BFRB retreats and mindfulness based impulse reduction courses with Christina Pearson. She has combined those skills with the ones accumulated in her professional endeavors to work with others struggling with shame and day to day management of BFRBs.
Doug is the owner and founder of Good Enough Ranch in El Reno, Oklahoma. Doug has been an intrinsic part of the BFRB awareness movement since his childhood and attended his first BFRB retreat in 1999. He is an accomplished photographer, entrepreneur and mental health advocate. Doug also suffers from hair pulling and skin picking, and has oftentimes utilized his unique skill set to bring awareness to our community. Doug has found solace in working with animals and bringing others to his farm to experience the healing powers of animal and art therapies, and is excited to host us at his home so that we can experience these therapeutic remedies firsthand.
Dr. Cara Genbauffe is a licensed clinical psychologist based in New Jersey, who additionally holds New York licensure and the Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT) in PSYPACT states. Dr. Genbauffe specializes in the treatment of Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and related disorders, anxiety disorders, and trauma-related disorders. As a therapist, Dr. Genbauffe utilizes a variety of evidence-based psychotherapies and aims to tailor treatment to the individual to maximize effectiveness. In relation to BFRB treatment, this may include skills from Comprehensive Behavioral treatment (ComB), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT).
Jese Masser has been a BFRB advocate for as long as she can remember and was diagnosed with trich and OCD when she was 12 years old. Jese has been attending retreats with Christina Pearson since 2015 in Colorado and Oklahoma. She has also benefited from an outpatient treatment center for her behaviors at Roger’s where she lived in Tampa, FL.
Jese began practicing yoga and meditation in Florida in 2005 and has since continued where she lives in Myrtle Beach, SC. She attends yearly meditation and yoga retreats in the serene mountains in Asheville, NC where she learns new methods and techniques. Jese is passionate about mind and soul connection which she attributes her success of her hair pulling.
Jese also has a love for animal rescue. Thirteen years ago she rescued a parrot named Snickers, who also picks. She uses a lot of similar techniques doctors and therapists taught her from retreats and conferences to help him cope with his BFRB.
From animals, to adults, Jese enjoys helping others to heal and become the best versions of themselves.
Robin Roy has been living with trichotillomania since she was 12 years old. She first discovered the BRFB community in her 50’s which was life changing. Meeting people “like her” was transformative as she began to unpack the years of silent suffering and shame. Robin went to her first retreat in 2015 which presented a whole new connection to the BFRB community. She feels that the retreat creates a safe space to be vulnerable and step away from the demands of our day-to-day lives. Robin views the retreats as a time for self-care, a recharging station so to speak. Each retreat becomes a reunion of friendships and shared personal growth.
Robin wants to provide a creative art element to retreat offerings for those looking to try something new. She has no formal artistic training but brings a lifetime of experience. Robin says she is unable to draw the likeness of an image to paper but has found many ways to experience the creative process. When actively creating she can “just be” with her thoughts and finds sense of peace.
Robin has dabbled in many different art forms such as pottery, clay sculpture, knitting, quilting, basket making, beading, paper crafts, and digital life story scrapbooking.
The opportunities are limitless!