“There’s a little hoarder in all of us, when it gets out of hand….that’s what makes it different”.

- Stelios Kiosses

If you would like to talk about how a hoarding problem might be affecting you, please reach out for a free consultation.

Or maybe you are a family member who has had to grow up or is still living in a household with someone who is navigating a hoarding problem and that has impacted your life?  Where and who do you turn to for support and a space for understanding the hoarding problem and your relationship with the person you care about?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is the most commonly used therapy modality for treating people with hoarding problems, however, there is also strong research for a trauma and grief informed approach to be considered in treatment also.  This provides a level of therapeutic care that not only works with the current problem of hoarding itself and it’s impact, but also digs deeper beneath the surface to explore what is the root cause of the need and desire to hoard.

• Your home is so filled with items that it has become almost impossible to find anything - you know it’s there somewhere but there is so much stuff that it’s just buried​
• You are not able to enjoy your home or your possessions anymore
• There are items that are deteriorating and cannot be used anymore
• You have stopped asking your family and friends to your home because you don’t want them to see the state of your home filled with your possessions
• Your family and friends may refuse to come to your home due to safety concerns
• You have rooms in your house that you are not able to use for the purpose they were designed for
• You are not able to enter rooms of your house anymore
• Symptoms of anxiety and/or depression
• The thought of managing the sorting of your possessions on your own or with your family and friends is overwhelming
• Fear that people might make you throw out your possessions
• Difficulty and/or distress with discarding or parting with your possessions regardless of their value
• You keep acquiring items and you just can’t seem to help yourself
• You can’t understand why everybody else seems to think that there is a problem when you don’t

Therapy for Hoarding

Are you concerned about the level of possessions in your home?  Or possibly the level of possessions in the home of someone you care about?  Has it surpassed the state of a collection, “saving for when I might need it”, or even clutter?

How do we know when it’s the right time to seek professional help?  There is no question that this is a difficult issue to treat and it’s a very personal decision based on varying criteria that drives that decision.  It can also be quite overwhelming to know where and how to start.  And it can be incredibly challenging to stay present,  focused, and engaged in the clearing process when there is so much that is often at the core of why there might be a hoarding problem.

You may like to consider seeking professional help if you are experiencing some of the following: