Hoarding Disorder Treatment & Management

Updated: Aug 25, 2021
  • Author: Vlasios Brakoulias, MBBS, PhD, M(Psych), FRANZCP; Chief Editor: David Bienenfeld, MD  more...
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Treatment

Approach Considerations

It is important to establish a therapeutic relationship with the patient who may lack awareness of their problem or not be motivated to change their way of life.

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Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Treatment usually involves psychological therapy in the form of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with weekly sessions over 20 to 26 weeks. [19] Often these sessions incorporate home visits with a therapist [20] combined with between-session homework. A study of persons with hoarding disorder who received 26 individual sessions of CBT, including frequent home visits, over a 7-12 month period, found adherence to homework assignments was strongly related to symptom improvement. [21]

Research on online CBT sessions that give patients access to educational resources on hoarding, cognitive strategies, and a chat-group has shown promising results. [22]

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