NEW 4/16/2010: IOCDF Hoarding Center
IOCDF Hoarding Center

Adult Protective Services (APS)

National Center on Elder Abuse
State Resource Directory on Elder Abuse Prevention, Adult Protective Services, Agencies on Aging
How APS works

More resources of this type can be found on our Elder Resouces page

Animal Hoarding

Three Stages/Types of Animal Hoarding
Written by Gary J. Patronek, VMD, PhD:

1) Overwhelmed caregiver

• Some awareness, more reality-based
• More passive acquisition
• Problems triggered by change in circumstance
• Unable to problem-solve effectively
• Animals are family members
• Likely to be socially isolated
• Self-esteem linked to role as caregiver
• Fewer issues with authorities

2) Rescuer hoarder

• Mission leading to unavoidable compulsion
• Fear of death
• More active vs. passive acquisition
• S/he is the only one who can provide care
• Rescue-followed-by-adoption becomes rescue-only care
• May have extensive network of enablers or group
• Not as likely to live with the animals
  

3) Exploiter hoarder

• Tends to have sociopathic characteristics
• Lacks empathy for people or animals
• Indifferent to harm caused
• Rejects outsiders’ concerns
• Superficial charm and charisma
• Lacks guilt /remorse
• Manipulative and cunning
• Adopts role of expert with need to control
  

Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC)
Animal Hoarding:  Alone in a Crowded Room
Report: Structuring Interdisciplinary Responses to Animal Hoarding, by HARC
Animal Hoarding News & Info., Facebook Group
Animal Hoarding Yahoo Discussion Group
What caseworkers need to know
Humane Society of United States
Interventions-PETA
Public Policy
Resource Manual
The challenge of animal hoarding
Tips for families and friends(pdf)
Community task force
Pilot project for social workers
Excuses and justifications offered by animal hoarders(pdf)
Tips for veterinarians(pdf)
Tools for therapists
Long-term outcomes in animal hoarding cases(pdf)

Animal Hoarding Crisis Intervention
The Tufts University Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC) is compiling a list of people who specialize in animal hoarding crisis intervention. One counselor available at present:
Fee-for-Service Consultations- Long distance telephone consultation services provided (or available) for out-of-state clients or organizations. Contact: jnncnslt@aol.com or (617) 325-4828 or (617) 325-4828.     

Books About Hoarding
Buried in Treasures Book.Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding, By David F. Tolin, Randy O. Frost, Gail Steketee. Workbook. Review.
Description:
Buried in Treasures outlines a scientifically-based and effective program for helping compulsive hoarders dig their way out of the clutter and chaos of their homes. Discover the reasons for your problems with acquiring, saving, and hoarding, and learn new ways of thinking about your possessions so you can accurately identify those things you really need and those you can do without. Learn to recognize the "bad guys" that maintain your hoarding behavior and meet the "good guys" who will motivate you and put you on the path to change. Features of this book include: -Self-assessments to determine the severity of the problem -Tips and tools for organizing your possessions and filing your paperwork -Strategies for changing unhelpful beliefs about your possessions -Behavioral experiments to reduce your fear of anxiety and fear of discarding.

Compulsive Hoarding and Acquiring: Workbook
By Gail Steketee, Randy Frost
Description:
The self-help workbook that goes with Buried in Treasures:
Although most people enjoy acquiring and using their possessions and nearly everyone keeps some things they dont need or use, people with compulsive hoarding carry this to an extreme. For them, ridding themselves of extra possessions is emotionally exhausting. Organizing is difficult and resisting the impulse to acquire new things is almost impossible. This book represents more than a decade of research and practice to understand hoarding and develop an effective treatment program that address its many components. Used in conjunction with the treatment described in the therapist guide, this workbook teaches people how to minimize the negative effect clutter has on their lives, as well as the lives of those close to them. Using effective and practical techniques and skills, this program helps people get used to the idea of sorting, organizing, and gradually removing their unwanted possessions. People who hoard tend to overvalue the importance of the things they own and keep. This book will also help people to recognize errors in their thinking and modify their thoughts and beliefs to more accurately reflect the value of their belongings. Worksheets for developing a personal organization plan and determining categories for filing are also included in this interactive, easy-to-use workbook. With these books, users can be active participants who successfully overcome their compulsive hoarding.

Digging Out: Helping Your Loved One Manage Clutter, Hoarding, and Compulsive Acquiring
By Michael A., Tompkins, Tamara L. Hartl
Reviews

Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding: Why You Save & How You Can Stop
By Fugen Neziroglu, Jerome Bubrick, Jose A. Yaryura-Tobias. - Author. Review
Description:
This book, the first ever written for savers and their families, provides an overview of compulsive hoarding and how it relates to obsessive-compulsive disorder. It discusses hoarding broadly, offering readers perspectives on the physical, behavioral, and value-oriented aspects of the condition. Readers can use its assessment tools to help decide why they or their loved one hoards. Skill-building exercises help readers determine how to beat the hoarding problem by addressing issues that often underlie compulsive saving. Even though this is fundamentally a self-help book, it contains a frank discussion about the need for professional help in some hoarding cases, how to find it, and what medications have been proven effective for savers.

Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things, Randy Frost, Gail Steketee. Review
Description:
Randy Frost and Gail Steketee were the first to study hoarding when they began their work a decade ago; they expected to find a few sufferers but ended up treating hundreds of patients and fielding thousands of calls from the families of others. Now they explore the compulsion through a series of compelling case studies in the vein of Oliver Sacks. With vivid portraits that show us the traits by which you can identify a hoarder—piles on sofas and beds that make the furniture useless, houses that can be navigated only by following small paths called goat trails, vast piles of paper that the hoarders “churn” but never discard, even collections of animals and garbage—Frost and Steketee illuminate the pull that possessions exert on all of us. Whether we’re savers, collectors, or compulsive cleaners, very few of us are in fact free of the impulses that drive hoarders to the extremes in which they live. For all of us with complicated relationships to our things, Stuff answers the question of what happens when our stuff starts to own us.

Therapists Guide for Compulsive Hoarding. Chapter 1. Review.
Written by the developers of this groundbreaking treatment, this manual is the first to present an empirically supported and effective CBT program for treating compulsive hoarding and acquiring. This guide gives clinicians the information to understand hoarding and proven tools to help clients overcome their compulsive behaviors. It teaches individuals how to recognize errors in thinking and uses both imagined and real exposures to teach them the skills they need to manage their problem. Home visits by the clinician are a part of the treatment, as well as consultations with other professionals who might assist if necessary. Homework exercises include behavioral experiments to test personal beliefs about possessions, developing an organization plan and filing system, and sorting and organizing items room-by-room.

Designed to be used in conjunction with the corresponding workbook, this therapist guide provides numerous assessment and intervention forms to help clients use the methods described in this program. Complete with case examples and strategies for dealing with problems, this user-friendly guide is a dependable resource that no clinician can do without.

Video:
Information About Compulsive Hoarding
In this video series Dr. Reinardy discusses the common characteristics and contributing variables found in hoarding behavior and demonstrates techniques that can be used to effectively declutter a home. The information and strategies can be utilized by individuals who hoard, their family members, and professionals who work with this population.

Cleaning Companies:
Cleaning companies/Debris removal by state
Crisis Cleaning Advice by those who have done it

Hoarding Task Forces:

About Hoarding Task Forces

Hoarding Task Force Online Resource Center (up and running June 2010. In the meantime, a few are listed below):

CA:
Los Angeles Hoarding Task Force
Marin County Hoarding Task Force
Orange County Task Force on Hoarding
San Diego Hoarding Coallition
San Francisco Compulsive Hoarding & Cluttering Project
SF Hoarding & Cluttering Resource List
SF Institute on Compulsive Hoarding & Cluttering
San Francisco-Hoarding Task Force

MA:
Boston Hoarding Task Force is chaired by Ruth Harel of the Boston Housing Court Tenancy Preservation program. rharel@baycove.org.
Beverly, MA Hoarding Task Force
Newton Hoarder's Task Force
Northhampton Hoarding Task Force
Sharon does not have a formal task force, but, depending on the case, Sheila Miller, Town Nurse, will work with the MSW, fire, police and building inspector and other outside agencies. Sheila Miller | smiller@townofSharon.org
Western Massachusetts Hoarding Task Force

MD

Gaithersburg
Contact the county's Department of Health and Human Services or hhsmail@montgomerycountymd.gov

TX
NEW: El Paso's newly-formed Hoarding Task Force held its first meeting...

VA:
Fairfax County Virginia Hoarding Task Force

WA:
Washington State Hoarding Task Force

UK
Hoarding UK is looking to create a collaborate group of relevant participants who together will work to create a 'Hoarding Task Force' at local level throughout the UK.

Hoarding Task Forces, in the news (past articles):

Beach identifies hoarders, helps them overcome compulsion
The Virginian Pilot, By Susan E. White, May 29, 2007

Marin County Task Force on Hoarding
"More to hoarding than just clutter", Oakland Tribune,  May 14, 2007 , by Paul Liberatore

Grabbing hoarding by the horns
(Orange County, CA) By FRANK MICKADEIT, October 25, 2006

Hoarder's Eviction Didn't Violate Rights, Judge Rules
Arlington, VA-By Brigid Schulte, Washington Post Staff Writer, July 27, 2006
(See similar story-abcnews.com)

Fighting to Remain Engulfed in Junk
As Task Forces Move In, Hoarders Strike Back in Court
By Brigid Schulte, Washington Post Staff Writer, June 18, 2006

Arlington is defending the actions
of its Hoarding Task Force, a group charged with removing stockpiles of materials from apartments and homes that present dangers to residents.
by David Francis, The Examiner, July 26, 2006

Stockpiling Run Rampant
(Fairfax, VA), By Timothy Dwyer, Washington Post, December 8, 2005

Social Workers Hope to Coordinate Treatment of Hoarders
By Cameron W. Barr, Washington Post Staff Writer, June 16, 2005

Task Force (NY) Seeks to Help Compulsive Hoarders
NPR:by Margot Adler, Morning Edition, January 22, 2004

So Much Clutter, So Little Room: Examining the Roots of Hoarding
New York Times, By NINA BERNSTEIN, Published: December 31, 2003

Task Force Tries to Save Those Who Save Too Much
By HEATH FOSTER, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER, October 30, 2002

University of Kansas School of Social Welfare Office of Aging and Long Term Care Report, 2007:
Second, we communicated with key informants from hoarding task forces around the country to identify innovative protocols and state or local codes that have shown to be effective in assisting older adults who hoard to maintain community tenure.

Canada: Findings from Interviews and Focus GroupsCommunity Response to Hoarding

Organizers:
Find a certified professional organizer in chronic disorganization
Find a professional organizer with the National Assn. Professional Organizers (be sure to ask if experienced with hoarding situations)

What Every Professional Organizer Needs to Know About Hoarding, By Judith Kolberg

Researchers
*New England Hoarding Consortium Members (Their newsletters: 2006, 2007, 2008). Facebook:
*Randy Frost, PhD, Harold Edward and Elsa Sipola Israel Professor of Psychology, Smith College
Northampton, MA
Dr. Frost is the pioneer in researching Hoarding and is co-Investigator in a NIMH funded treatment development project entitled, "Treatment of Compulsive Hoarding." He is also Principal Investigator on another NIMH funded project studying the“Psychopathology of Compulsive Hoarding”. His primary research interest lies in obsessive compulsive disorder and the nature and treatment of compulsive hoarding. (his Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things book)

*Gail Steketee, PhD, Professor, Dean-School of Social Work, Boston University,
Boston, MA
A NIMH collaborative grant was awarded to Dr. Frost and Dr. Steketee in January, 2005 to study the psychopathology of compulsive hoarding. With Dr. Frost, she co-chairs an international research group, the Obsessive Compulsive Cognitions Working Group (OCCWG) dedicated to the study of cognitive aspects of OCD.
View her video presentation about Hoarding.
(her Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things book)

*David Tolin, Ph.D., Institute of Living/Anxiety Disorders Center-Hoarding. Facebook
Hartford, CT
Dr. Tolin is the author of over 100 journal articles and book chapters.  He is co-author of the books Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding. Dr. Tolin has been a recurrent guest on programs such as The Today Show, Good Morning America, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.  He was a featured expert on the A&E series Hoarders, and will be featured in Summer 2010 on the VH-1 series The OCD Project.

Fugen Neziroglu , Ph.D.- Great Neck, NY
Sanjaya Saxena, M.D.-San Diego, CA
Michael Tompkins, Ph.D.-San Francisco, CA. Video with Dr. Tompkins discussing hoarding.

Animal Hoarding:
Gary J. Patronek, VMD, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Center for Animals and Public Policy
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts, North Grafton, MA
From 1997 – 2003, Dr. Patronek was the Director of Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy. His academic and research interests include the link between human and non-human animal health and welfare, including the sentinel value of animal abuse for human violence. It was during that time that he began academic research into the problem of animal hoarding and founded the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC).

Jane N. Nathanson, LCSW, LRC, CRC, Social Work and Rehabilitation Consultant
MA Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Boston, MA
Since 1999, Ms. Nathanson has been a member of the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium, and has concurrently developed the Animal Hoarding Pilot Project for the Massachusetts SPCA's Animal Protection Division, for whom she continues to conduct crisis intervention and case management services.

Support for Hoarders
Online:
H-C Support
Help I'm A Hoarder
Messiness and Hoarding Yahoo Group
Reclaiming Dignity
Serenity Bay-Hoarding
Stepping Out of Squalor
Online Group and Phone Counseling:
Beth Johnson, The Clutter Workshop
Henriette Kellum, LCSW (phone)

Support for family members of hoarders:
Online:
Children of Hoarders online support group (spouses of COH also welcome)
Discussion Forums on the COH site for all family members of hoarders (re-opening TBA)
Mates of Messies
Friends of Hoarders
Friends and Family of Hoarders/Clutterers
In person:
Ann Arbor, MI support group for COH, first Friday of each month(email for location & more info.)
Tempe, AZ support group for COH

Therapists:
Find a therapist-Behavioral Therapy Institute Graduate (BTI) is a good qualification for them to have. Also see; ADAA, ACT, ABCT, OCD-LA

Additional/Misc:
Media About Hoarding
A & E: "Hoarders" , discussion forums for show, Twitter, Facebook
Watch online videos/clips
Buy full episodes

Some of the featured professionals:

Cleaners:
The Clutter Cleaner; Matt Paxton

Professional Organizers:
The Delphi Center for Organization (& a "HOARDERS" producer); Dorothy Breininger -Blog
Metropolitian Organizing®, LLC; Geralin Thomas - Facebook
Action Organizing Services; Brenden McDaniel
Standolyn Robertson

Therapists:
Lakeside Center for Behavioral Change; Renae Reinardy Ph.D.
The Anxiety Treatment Center; Robin Zasio, Psy.D., LCSW
The Center for Emotional Health of Greater Philadelphia, LLC; Marla W. Deibler, Psy.D.
The University of Tennessee College of Social Work; David Dia, Ph.D., LCSW, CCBT

Participants:
Son, Jason (Augustine Episode), Daughter CiCi (Judi & Gail episode), update on children in MA bedbug episode

Additional Discussion forums about this show; TWOP Forums

The Learning Channel: "Hoarding; Buried Alive" -Follow-up blog, discussion forums for show
Request for participants (pdf)
Watch online videos/clips
Additional Discussions about this show; TWOP Forums
Full episodes to buy

Possessed Video , by Martin Hampton. Website for video for purchase of DVD,
'POSSESSED' enters the complicated worlds of four hoarders; people whose lives are dominated by their relationship to possessions. The film questions whether hoarding is a symptom of mental illness or a revolt against the material recklessness of consumerism. When does collecting become hoarding and why do possessions exert such an influence on our lives?

Help I'm A Hoarder, TLC

Extraordinary Hoarders

2010 News &Articles:

How Hoarding Shows Cured My Hoarding (Salon.com, April 10, 2010)

For Hoarders, Mess begins in mind, (NPR, 4/8/10)

CA Eviction due to hoarding,(3/31/10-Daily Bulletin, Inland Valley)

Willpower, and Maybe a Camera, to Get Rid of Your Unused Junk (New York Times, 3/26/2010)
“Hoarders collect to have the experience of life without really experiencing it.” Professor Frost,
” ....While there are different approaches and degrees of difficulty in helping the simple clutterbug versus the compulsive hoarder, one thing is true for them both: it is unlikely that a huge one-time cleanup and overhaul is going to be successful without a follow-up."

NorthSide Fire Sends Row Houses Up In Smoke, The Pittsburgh Channel.com, March 23, 2010
"Firefighters say clutter made fighting flames more difficult... And they had a very difficult time getting around in the building. Plus there was a significantly larger fire load than we normally find in a person's house," said Deputy Fire Chief Frank Large."

Conference shines a light on hoarding (SignOnSanDiego.com, San Diego, CA, March 6, 2010)
"This is not a decision, it’s a disease,” he told an audience of social workers, professional organizers, code enforcers and others at the first San Diego Hoarding Conference yesterday in Balboa Park..... The conference was put on by the San Diego Hoarding Collaborative, which was formed in August as a way to deal with chronic hoarders and their effects on families, neighbors and the community...... Sanjaya Saxena, director of UCSD’s obsessive-compulsive disorders program, said even if only 3 percent of the population were considered compulsive hoarders, that would mean 8 million people in the United States suffer from it — making it far more prevalent than schizophrenia, which affects an estimated 2.2 million U.S. citizens."

What Quirk of Brain Turns People Into Hoarders?(Discovermagazine.com,3/10)

Professor's exploration of hoarding garners attention, (Smith College, 2/10)

When It Isn't Just Clutter Anymore (New York Times,The New Old Age, January 23, 2010)
"Suggest that you clear away the clutter, as adult children often do, and a hoarder (elder)will come up with a litany of reasons to refuse: He is going to get around to reading those papers one day. The mess doesn’t bother him, so why should it bother you?
It’s his home, so back off. “Hoarders are very resistant to an offer to help,” Dr. Wetherell said.
“And very resentful if you try to do anything behind their backs.”

View our hoarding news article archives from 2006

• January, 2009
• October, 2008
• September, 2008
• August, 2008
• June, 2008
• May, 2008
• April, 2008
• March, 2008
• February, 2008
• January, 2008
• December, 2007
• November, 2007
• October, 2007
• September, 2007
• August, 2007
• July, 2007
• June, 2007
• May, 2007
• April, 2007
• March, 2007
• February, 2007
• January, 2007
• December, 2006
• November, 2006
• October, 2006
• September, 2006
• August, 2006
• July, 2006

 

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Remember,our parents living conditions are not our fault.
We don't need to carry any guilt for it.