Interviewing Leanne Christian

Leanne Christian (@thoughtfully_human) is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in North Carolina with a special interest in working with people with body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs), including skin picking and hair pulling. She also lives with a BFRB herself, giving her a unique perspective as both a clinician and someone with lived experience.Leanne’s work with BFRBs grew from noticing how often clients would disclose picking or pulling only after they felt safe enough to talk about it. She became interested in the gap between knowing a BFRB is a problem and actually having the space, tools, and support to address it.Her approach is grounded in compassion, awareness, acceptance, and curiosity rather than shame or perfection. She helps clients understand the functions and patterns behind their BFRBs and build practical, individualized toolboxes of skills they can practice in everyday life.Through her practice and educational work, Leanne is creating accessible tools, exercises, and short-form resources designed to make BFRB support feel less intimidating to begin—and to remind people that their BFRB deserves attention and care, even when it isn’t the most important thing happening in their lives.—You’re probably here because you too live with trichotillomania or another BFRB. What if I told you there was an online community just for us that I’m also a part of? Let me introduce you to the HabitAware Collective, a safe and supportive place where people with BFRBs feel successful in their journeys. The HabitAware Collective offers daily accountability, two support groups each week, webinars led by experts, among other amazing resources. Learn more by visiting habitaware.com/community todayAneela Idnani, the muse and co-founder of HabitAware and my incredible boss, released her memoir, Aneela, Where Are Your Eyebrows? This year. I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy and I truly believe it is something you should read too. You will feel seen in these pages, quite possibly, for the first time ever. Get your copy of Aneela, Where Are Your Eyebrows today by visiting habitaware.com/memoir