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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffTreatment of hoarding is often a challenge that meets with mixed success. For one thing, many people who hoard don't recognize the negative impact of hoarding on their lives or don't believe they need treatment. This is especially true if their possessions or animals offer comfort. And people whose animals or possessions are taken away will often quickly collect more to help fulfill emotional needs.
Try to find a therapist or other mental health provider who has experience in treating hoarding. While therapy can be intense and time-consuming, it can pay off in the long run.
There are two main types of treatment for hoarding — psychotherapy and medications.
Psychotherapy
Cognitive behavior therapy is the most common form of psychotherapy used to treat hoarding. As part of cognitive behavior therapy, you may:
- Explore why you feel compelled to hoard
- Learn to organize and categorize possessions to help you decide which ones to discard
- Improve your decision-making skills
- Declutter your home during in-home visits by a therapist or professional organizer
- Learn and practice relaxation skills
- Attend family or group therapy
- Be encouraged to consider psychiatric hospitalization if your hoarding is severe
- Have periodic visits or ongoing treatment to help you keep up healthy habits
Medications
Research continues on the most effective ways to use medications in the treatment of hoarding. The medications most commonly used for hoarding are a type of antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as paroxetine (Paxil). However, not everyone responds to this treatment.
- Fact sheet: What is compulsive hoarding. International OCD Foundation. http://www.ocfoundation.org/uploadedFiles/Hoarding%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf?n=3557. Accessed March 14, 2011.
- Sansone RA, et al. Hoarding: Obsessive symptom or syndrome? Psychiatry. 2010;7:24.
- Tolin DF. Challenges and advances in treating hoarding. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2011. In press.
- Tolin DF. Understanding and treating hoarding: A biopsychosocial perspective. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2011. In press.
- Saxena S. Recent advances in compulsive hoarding. Current Psychiatry Reports. 2008;10:297.
- Storch EA, et al. Compulsive hoarding in children. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2011. In press.
- Tompkins MA. Working with families of people who hoard: A harm reduction approach. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2011. In press.
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