Habit Reversal Training

Habit reversal training, usually abbreviated HRT, is a multicomponent behavioral treatment originally developed to address a wide range of repetitive behavior disorders. It has been used to treat conditions such as tics, trichotillomania, nail biting, thumb sucking, skin picking, temporomandibular joint disorder, lip and cheek biting, and stuttering, and it combines five components: awareness training, competing response training, contingency management, relaxation training, and generalization training. Research has found consistently large effect sizes, around 0.80, across the disorders it has been used to treat, and it is considered a well-established treatment for stuttering, thumb sucking, nail biting, and temporomandibular joint disorder.