Take this short quiz of the basics, from nurses.com
Compulsive Hoarding: Sign of a Deeper Disorder
Authors: Gayle Johnson Bohrer, RN, MSN & Linda Haynes, RN, PHD
1) Which best describes the current diagnostic category for compulsive hoarding?
Compulsive hoarding is listed in the DSM-IV with defining characteristics
Compulsive hoarding is a myth
Compulsive hoarding is a distinct pattern of behaviors that may be associated with another psychiatric disorder
Compulsive hoarding is a manifestation of a delusional and grandiose need to be recognized
2) Compulsive hoarding is most often associated with which of the following diagnoses?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Borderline personality disorder
Schizophrenia
Bipolar disorder
3) How can most items collected by compulsive hoarders be described?
Valuable collector’s items
Family heirlooms
Useless or of no value
Extensively used as reference items
4) When compulsive hoarding behavior is disrupted, how will a person probably react?
Be grateful
Become delusional
Become anxious
Become depressed
5) Why might a compulsive hoarder have difficulty with discarding items?
Compulsive hoarders have poor impulse control
Compulsive hoarders have difficulty with decision-making
Compulsive hoarders obsessively use items collected
Compulsive hoarders have grandiose thoughts about how collected items can be used
6) Brain imaging of compulsive hoarders suggests the disorder may have origins in which area of the brain?
Cingulate gyrus
Brain stem
Frontal lobe
Thalamus
7) The compulsive hoarder tends to have difficulty with which function(s)?
Cognitive
Emotional
Psychomotor
Cognitive and emotional
8) How does the compulsive hoarder differ from the person who has OCD without compulsive hoarding?
People with OCD tend to exhibit a thought disorder
People with OCD tend to collect only functional items with an intent to use the items
People with OCD have insight into the irrationality of obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions
People with OCD are more resistant to treatment
9) Why is compulsive hoarding a health care concern?
Hoarding leads to substance abuse
Hoarding is often associated with domestic violence
Hoarding leads to safety concerns
Hoarding is a progressive disorder that leads to more serious mental health diagnoses
10) Which has been found to be most effective in treating a person with compulsive hoarding behaviors?
Electroconvulsive therapy
Psychotropic medications
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
Psychotherapy
11) Which describes how a nurse can best organize care of a person with compulsive hoarding behaviors?
Recognizing that the person has difficulty with information, cognitive, and emotional processing
Helping the person in a nonjudgmental manner to
Exploring the need for the hoarded items
Forcing the person to change his or her behavior
12) What can be expected with treatment of a person with compulsive hoarding behaviors?
Relapse of previous behavior
Immediate response to treatment
Self-referral
Freedom from anxiety and impulse control problems
Answers:
1) Which best describes the current diagnostic category for compulsive hoarding?
Compulsive hoarding is a distinct pattern of behaviors that may be associated with another psychiatric disorder - correct
2) Compulsive hoarding is most often associated with which of the following diagnoses?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder - correct
3) How can most items collected by compulsive hoarders be described?
Useless or of no value - correct
4) When compulsive hoarding behavior is disrupted, how will a person probably react?
Become anxious - correct
5) Why might a compulsive hoarder have difficulty with discarding items?
Compulsive hoarders have difficulty with decision-making - correct
6) Brain imaging of compulsive hoarders suggests the disorder may have origins in which area of the brain?
Cingulate gyrus - correct
7) The compulsive hoarder tends to have difficulty with which function(s)?
Cognitive and emotional - correct
8) How does the compulsive hoarder differ from the person who has OCD without compulsive hoarding?
People with OCD have insight into the irrationality of obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions - correct
9) Why is compulsive hoarding a health care concern?
Hoarding leads to safety concerns - correct
10) Which has been found to be most effective in treating a person with compulsive hoarding behaviors?
Cognitive-behavioral therapy - correct
11) Which describes how a nurse can best organize care of a person with compulsive hoarding behaviors?
Recognizing that the person has difficulty with information, cognitive, and emotional processing - correct
12) What can be expected with treatment of a person with compulsive hoarding behaviors?
Relapse of previous behavior - correct