Resources
Hoarding involves attachment to personal possessions and persistent difficulty letting go of objects that other people may easily discard, donate, or recycle. After a while, possessions start to build up and important parts of the home cannot be used for everyday activities such as preparing food in the kitchen or sleeping in the bedroom. Many Canadians (about 1 in 40 of us) experience struggles with problematic clutter, difficulty discarding, or excessively acquiring.
We provide the following information in case you would like to learn more about hoarding or mental health for yourself or a loved one.
The Centre for Collaborative Research on Hoarding does not endorse any of the following resources. Instead, we provide them for those looking to learn more about hoarding.
Books
Digging Out: Helping Your Loved One Manage Clutter, Hoarding, and Compulsive Acquiring (2009)
Michael Tompkins and Tamara Hartl
Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving & Hoarding (2007)
David Tolin, Randy Frost,
and Gail Steketee
Videos
Dr. Christiana Bratiotis delivers a presentation on the basics of hoarding disorder. From this talk, you will learn how to define hoarding and examine associated problems of squalor and animal hoarding, recognize mental health diagnostic criteria for hoarding disorder and co-occurring mental health conditions, learn about the behavioural, emotional and belief/meaning aspects of a hoarding problem, and practice using tested measures to assess the severity of hoarding behaviour.
How to Help: Strategies to Support Clients Who Hoard
Join Dr. Christiana Bratiotis in an online training geared towards helping support clients who hoard. From this talk, you will practice using strategies for intervening with and addressing hoarding in adults, identify community resources for addressing hoarding, and learn about the benefits of cross-disciplinary approaches to hoarding intervention.
“Beyond Hoarding presents a fresh look at hoarding through the stories of people caught in the destructive grip of this compulsion. Their experiences run the gamut from tragic death to courageous recovery. Top mental health experts share the latest insights into this psychiatric disorder which surprisingly affects millions.”
Helping People Who Hoard: Alternatives to Nagging, Pleading, and Threatening
In this video Dr Michael Tompkins describes the sort of communication tactics that put strain on relationships, and contribute to the refusal of help from those who hoard. Additionally, he provides advice for how to fix those relationships, with the end goal being help acceptance.
Hoarding Disorder with Dr. Randy Frost
“Bonnie and Lily are joined by Hoarding Disorder expert, Dr Randy Frost, a professor of psychology at Smith College, Massachusetts. Find out if being cluttered makes you a hoarder, why hoarding disorder makes letting go of things so difficult and when you should intervene for a loved one who is hoarding. This episode is for the finder keepers, the collectors, the acquirers, the space invaders and those that love and live with them.”
Podcasts
Hoarding: What it is, how to help, and myths and misconceptions
April 30th, 2022
Our very own Dr. Christiana Bratiotis joins the Vancouver Island Mental Health Society’s People First Radio to discuss hoarding, how you can help, and some common misconceptions about the behaviour that often lead to stigma.
January 13, 2022
Show #1286
In January of 2022 our own Dr. Christiana Bratiotis appeared on NPR’s The People’s Pharmacy (ep. 1286) to discuss some key things people should know about hoarding disorder. Dr. Bratiotis’s appearance begins at around 40 mins.
June 18, 2020
Episode #1, Season 5
Dragons hoard treasure, deep in their lairs. They don’t show it off to their neighbors. Revisionist History applies dragon psychology to the strange world of art museums, with help from Andy Warhol, J.R.R. Tolkien, a handful of accountants and the world’s leading hoarding expert.
November 15, 2010
Episode #59
In this episode, Dr. Gail Steketee, Professor and Dean of the School of Social Work at Boston University, discusses compulsive hoarding behavior. In addition to her scholarly work, Dr. Steketee has co-authored an accessible monograph about hoarding in that will have us thinking about the “stuff” of our own lives.
In this episode of Hoarding Stuff, decluttering and organisational expert Heather Matuozzo (director of Clouds End CIC) talks with Dave Woods about clutter, resilience and decision making in life. The Hoarding Stuff podcasts aim to investigate and probe the challenges and joys experienced by a person who hoards. This episode draws on knowledge from both a professional and a service user perspective to come to a more balanced understanding.
Websites
International Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Foundation Hoarding Centre
IOCDF is an international organization focused on helping those affected by OCD and related disorders. Resources are available for people who hoard and community service providers, as well as family and friends looking to help a loved one.
IOCDF provides a directory of international support groups for OCD and anxiety-related disorders, including hoarding disorder. Various treatment or support groups are offered for those with lived experience, as well as family and friends of loved ones with hoarding. Many groups are now being held online and accept international participants. The IOCDF also provides an online learning module to help inform people about hoarding.
Clutterers Anonymous is a fellowship to support, share experiences, and provide guidance to others who experience problems with household clutter. This group uses a 12-Step framework to help reduce cluttering behaviour. Meetings are held over the phone, video chat, or in-person.
This organization is a locally-owned removal and recycling company that serves many locations in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Pick-ups are charged by weight, rather than by time or volume. This company also attempts to recycle picked-up items whenever possible.
Take the guesswork out of recycling – learn what kinds of materials can be recycled in your community. This app also allows you to check city pick-up schedules, set reminders, and locate your nearest recycling depot.
Articles
Psychwire ASK: Q&A with Dr. Christiana Bratiotis and Dr. Gail Steketee
February 2021
Do you have questions about mental health, but don’t know who or where to ask? Psychwire is a popular website for mental health professionals, and the ASK section allows world-leading experts to answer questions from the public. Dr. Christiana Bratiotis and Dr. Gail Steketee were invited by Psychwire to answer your questions on hoarding.
Municipalities work to support those with hoarding issues
May 2019
The National Post spoke with Christiana Bratiotis on community responses to hoarding, as a new program from the city of Toronto will dedicate $45,000 to development of a web site that will provide resources for people with hoarding problems.
Hoarding in the Community: A Code Enforcement and Social Service Perspective
March 2013
This study examines the prevalence, attributes, and outcomes of hoarding cases observed by code enforcement and social service providers. In addition, it discusses the importance of interagency communication and protocol in the referral of hoarding cases to mental health professionals.
How to Talk to Someone with Hoarding: Do’s and Don’ts by Cristina M. Sorrentino
Cristina M. Sorrentino’s “Do’s and Don’ts” list provides a list of tips and advice for communicating with someone struggling with hoarding disorder.
UBC Psychology: A new study could shed additional light on the effects of hoarding
January 15, 2020
The new year has just begun and clearing out household clutter may become a New Year’s resolution for some individuals. In this article from the UBC Department of Psychology, Dr. Woody discusses how clutter can affect mental health, as well as some of the challenges and goals in her research on hoarding disorder.
Looking for more scientific journals? Check out our lab’s research publications!
Self-Help
Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving & Hoarding (2007)
David Tolin, Randy Frost,
and Gail Steketee
Initial Benchmarks for a Healthy and Safe Home
Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force
The Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force’s Initial Benchmarks for a Healthy and Safe Home provides 8 checklist items designed to reduce the risk in hoarded environments. These improve the overall safety of those with hoarding behaviour.
10 Steps to a Safer, Healthier, and
More Comfortable Home
Wellington Guelph Hoarding Network
The WGHR developed this tool as a way of opening the conversation about home safety with clients. The WGHR collaborated with local fire, public health, housing, animal and other services to create this tool, based on some of the common concerns found in homes with hoarding.
Provincial Resources
Canadian Provincial Resources for Hoarding
British Columbia
Hoarding Education and Action Team (HEAT)
250-361-0227
https://www.islandhealth.ca/our-services/hoarding-services/hoarding-services-heat
The HEAT team of Greater Victoria, in BC collaborates with diverse community service agencies to help people struggling with clutter and hoarding. The HEAT team refers people outside of GV to local resources.
The HEAT team also facilitates in-person and online support groups. Please refer to the organization website for updates.
Alberta
The Lethbridge Hoarding, Outreach, Management, & Education (HOME) Team
The H.O.M.E. (Hoarding, Outreach, Management, & Education) team aims to raise awareness of both hoarding disorder (HD) as well as domestic squalor (DS), while simultaneously creating safe spaces and reducing the risk of eviction or closure notices for anyone living with HD and/or DS. When someone is living with HD or DS, the case manager works with them one on one by assessing, planning, helping them implement best practices and teaching them new life and organizational skills. This is done by working together with other community agencies to provide supports in many different capacities. Some of the core agencies are Public Health Officers, Occupational Therapists, Addiction and Mental Health Outreach, AISH, Income Support, Home Care, Police and Crisis Team (PACT), as well as different senior’s centers, the City of Lethbridge Regulatory, several cleaning and hauling-away companies, and fire prevention just to name a few.
The Hoarding Disorder Foundation of Alberta
hoardingdisorderfoundation@gmail.com
The Hoarding Disorder Foundation of Alberta (HDFA) is a newly formed not-for-profit organization that has the purpose to provide compassionate, informed, collaborative services for people who struggle with hoarding behaviours and their loved ones.
This Full House
587-773-1764
https://www.mysage.ca/help/this-full-house
Full House is a practical resource, for people living in Edmonton 55+. They facilitate help from a Social Worker and private company to set goals, timelines, and support to enhance mobility and safety.
Edmonton Hoarding Coalition
cderksen@mysage.ca (Social Work Manager) | 780-701-9005
https://www.edmontonhoardingcoalition.ca/about
Edmonton Hoarding Coalition is a good resource for professionals. Their Hoarding Interventions Conference is good for those supporting those with lived experience (e.g., professionals, caregivers, friends and family, community)
Calgary Hoarding Coalition
calgaryhoardingcoalition@gmail.com
http://www.toomuchstuffcalgary.ca/about-cchc.html
A Calgary interagency, interdisciplinary group of professionals interested in the social issue of people who struggle with acquiring or discarding stuff. We are representatives from Alberta Health Services Community Geriatric Mental Health, Alberta Health Services Environmental Public Health, Alberta Health Services Mobile Response Team, Bishop O’Byrne Housing, Calgary Council for Addictions and Mental Health, Calgary Emergency Medical Services, Calgary Fire Department, Calgary Housing Corp, Canadian Mental Health Association (Calgary Branch), carya, and Elements Calgary Health Centre.
Carya (formerly known as Calgary Family Services)
https://caryacalgary.ca/our-programs/older-adults/making-room/
Social service agency that offers an online hoarding support group at a cost. They also offer other older adult services like sliding scale counselling.
Saskatchewan
Saskatoon Housing Coalition
306-655-4979 | info@saskatoonhousingcoalition.ca
319 Camponi Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Support Group
https://www.saskatoonhousingcoalition.ca/community-information.html
The SHC offers a weekly self-help support group for individuals with issues around hoarding. Please check directly with the organization for more information.
Services
https://www.saskatoonhousingcoalition.ca/programs.html
The Hoarding Support Program is geared towards individuals wanting to gain insight and skills to cope with hoarding behaviours.
Manitoba
This Full House
204-956-6440 (Winnipeg) | 1-888-333-3121 (Toll-free) | intake@aosupportservices.ca
https://www.aosupportservices.ca/our-three-pillars/safety-security/this-full-house/
319 Camponi Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
This Full House is a voluntary program that helps individuals experiencing hoarding behaviours to live safely in their home. The program provides a Registered Social Worker to help older adults make difficult choices about belongings in their home, and to decrease the anxiety they may feel about letting go of their belongings.
OCD Hoarding Disorder Support Group – OCD Manitoba
http://ocdmanitoba.ca/our-groups/
A support group for adults with compulsive hoarding issues. The facilitator encourages members to work towards their goals by utilizing cognitive behavioural therapy techniques.
Hoarding Help Manitoba – Lindsay Bacala
lindsaybacala@gmail.com | (204) 979-4723
https://hoardinghelpmanitoba.ca/
Registered Clinical Social Worker Specializing in Hoarding Disorder.
Hoarding Support Services at Samaritan House Resource Centre
https://www.samaritanhouse.net/shelter-housing
This Christian-based organization offers preventative programs for individuals affected by hoarding, or living in squalor and are in imminent risk of eviction and offers peer support. Their “Clearing the path program”, also has Buried In Treasures workshops.
Prairie Mountain Inter-Agency Hoarding Coalition
(204) 726-7001
https://www.prairiemountainhealth.ca/images/PublicHealth/PMIHC_Guide1.pdf
https://www.prairiemountainhealth.ca/healthy-communities
The PMIHC is composed of a variety of agencies within the Prairie Mountain Health region. PMIHC provides collaborative leadership, assessment and coordination to respond to and prevent incidents of severe hoarding or domestic squalor. Where feasible, PMIHC will organize and provide public education about hoarding, disseminate contact information and offer support to families coping with incidents of hoarding and domestic squalor.
Ontario
Wellington Guelph Hoarding Response
The WGHR represents a committed group of organization in Guelph Wellington, Ontario, that have come together to provide support and resources for persons with hoarding challenges. Resources are also available for those looking to support their loved ones struggling with hoarding, and service providers.
Community and home assistance to seniors –
TRRSS tenancy risk reduction services program (York Region)
(905) 713-3373 ext. 6082 | trrs@chats.on.ca
https://www.chats.on.ca/hoarding-and-de-cluttering
The CHATS TRRSS program provides services to York Region older adults with the goal of decreasing the risk of tenancy loss so that individuals can live better and stay in their homes.
Durham Hoarding Support Services (Durham Region)
1-888-314-6622 ext. 4218
https://www.vha.ca/our-services/clutter-hoarding-support-therapy/dhss/
The DHSS program provides a combination of in-home sorting/organizing sessions and counseling to help reduce the amount of items in the home. This service is free for eligible clients living in the Durham Region.
Gatekeepers program – Hamilton/Halton areas
905-527-3823 ext. 279
https://www.cfshw.com/gatekeepers
The Hamilton/Halton Gatekeepers program works with health and social service community partners to identify seniors living in severe self-neglect. The service is intended to increase access to support services for vulnerable and at-risk seniors and prevent the need for other services such as hospitalization and long term care.
Québec
AMI-Quebec (English)
Support Group
514-486-1448 | program@amiquebec.org
https://amiquebec.org/support/
AMI-Quebec provides access to support groups for those suffering with mental illness, family caregivers, and mixed groups for both. The support group for hoarding is held twice a month online via Google Meet in English.
Workshop
514-486-1448 | hoardnomore@amiquebec.org
https://amiquebec.org/hoard-no-more/
AMI-Quebec periodically holds workshops in a supportive and non-judgmental environment in which to learn and practice skills needed to let go of belongings. This workshop focuses on how to let go of your stuff, resist the urge to acquire more stuff, and organize the stuff you decide to keep. Please check the organization website for updates on workshop dates.
Newfoundland & Labrador
April Miller Professional Organizing
http://aprilmillerprofessionalorganizing.com/services
April Miller Professional Organizing offers both residential and business decluttering, organizing, and hoarding help. “Via the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD), I have completed extensive training in the underlying issues that lead to disorganization, including hoarding disorder.” – April Miller
Nova Scotia
Downsizing/Decluttering Services/Help family members with hoarding problems – Caregivers
This website provides local resources for professional decluttering, organizing, and cleaning services. They offer support groups for general unpaid caregivers and may be helpful to family or friends caring for loved ones struggling with hoarding.
Mental Health
British Columbia Helplines
BC211
2-1-1 (phone information and referral line)
Offers free information and referral regarding mental health, community, government, and social services in BC. The easy-to-use search engine will help find resources based on your needs that are close to your area.
BC Crisis Centre
(604) 872-3311 | 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433)
http://www.crisiscentre.bc.ca/
Provides confidential, non-judgmental, free emotional support either over the phone or online chat. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for people experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including suicidal thoughts.
VictimLinkBC
1-800-563-0808
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/criminal-justice/victims-of-crime/victimlinkbc
VictimLinkBC is a toll-free, confidential, multilingual telephone service available across B.C. and the Yukon 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It provides information and referral services to all victims of crime and immediate crisis support to victims of family and sexual violence, including victims of human trafficking exploited for labour or sexual services.
Mental Health Service Providers
Changeways Clinic
(604) 871-0490 | clientservices@changeways.com
#718 – 2525 Willow Street, Vancouver, BC
Offers free information and referral regarding mental health, community, government, and social services in BC. The easy-to-use search engine will help find resources based on your needs that are close to your area.
Mood Disorders Association of British Columbia (MDABC)
(604) 873-0103 | info@mdabc.net
#480 – 789 West Pender, Vancouver
MDABC is a nonprofit organization that provides treatment, support, education and hope of recovery for people living with a mood disorder.
MDABC Counseling and Wellness Centre
Individual, couples, and family counseling as well as holistic wellness workshops.
MDABC Mood Disorders Peer Support Groups
MDABC hosts more than 40 peer support groups across the province. For more information, visit the Support and Action Groups section of the MDABC website at www.mdabc.net/peer-support-action-groups.
North Shore Stress and Anxiety Clinic
(604) 985-3939 | nssac.reception@gmail.com
#330 – 145 Chadwick Court, North Vancouver
The North Shore Stress and Anxiety Clinic provides evidence-based cognitive-behavioural therapy and other evidence-based treatment approaches for stress, anxiety, clinical depression, and other problems. This provider also offers assessment services.
UBC Psychology Clinic Resources
www.clinic.psych.ubc.ca/Resources
The UBC Psychology clinic provides a comprehensive list of full cost, low cost, and online providers all over the Lower Mainland offering counselling services.
Vancouver CBT Centre
604-738-7337 | info@vancouvercbt.ca
Suite 302 – 1765 West 8th, Vancouver
Evidence-based cognitive-behavioural therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy specializing in anxiety disorders, clinical depression, and eating disorders. *The waitlist for this provider can range from weeks to months. Please contact the provider for more information.
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)
VCH Vancouver Access and Assessment Centre (AAC)
(604) 875-8289
http://www.vch.ca/your-care/mental-health-substance-use/vancouver-access-assessment-centre
Offers short term treatment on-site, by telephone, and by mobile response. They are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, for people experiencing a non-life threatening Mental Health and/or Substance Use issue.
VCH Older Adult Mental Health & Substance Use
(604) 709-6785
Offers services for older adults struggling with substance use and mental health issues. Phone lines are open Monday to Friday from 8:30am-4:30pm.
VCH Kelty’s Key: Online Therapy
(604) 675-3700
http://www.vch.ca/Pages/Kelty’s-Key–Online-Therapy.aspx?res_id=474
Offers individual short-term online therapy for people experiencing non-life threatening mental health problems. After an orientation by telephone, online therapists and clients will connect weekly over encrypted email.
Self-Help Resources for Depression
Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think
by Dennis Greenberger and Christine A. Padesky (2015)
Mind Over Mood presents concrete, manageable steps to overcoming depression and the anxiety that often accompanies it. This second edition adds new research on depression that has been conducted in the 20 years since the book initially appeared.
This book is available at the Vancouver Public Library.
Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
by David D. Burns (2008)
Feeling Good is a popular book providing guidance on how to handle negative feelings associated with depression as well as procrastination, pessimism, and low self-esteem. The book also has information on options available for depression treatment, including a consumer’s guide to antidepressant medications.
This book is available at the Vancouver Public Library.
Assessment and Inspection Tools
1. Volume of Stuff
Clutter Image Rating Scale
Kitchen, Bedroom, Living Room
Gail Steketee and Randy O. Frost, 2013
Studio
Rebecca Heller and Allie Kirchhoff Corrie, 2022
The Clutter Image Rating Scale involves a series of images of cluttered spaces that can be compared to the assessment space in question. These images are used to generalize the level of clutter in spaces being assessed.
2. Identifying Risks in the Home
Home Environment Assessment Tool for Hoarding
Sheila Woody & Christiana Bratiotis, 2022
The HEATH is a one-page tool to guide assessment of the most important health and safety risks during an in-person visit in hoarded environments. It is designed for professionals in any discipline or area of community practice.
Check back later to download the HEATH!
HOMES Assessment
Christiana Bratiotis, 2009
The HOMES Assessment is an initial and brief assessment designed to assess the level of risk in a hoarded environment. It is often used to help create a plan for future risk management. It is recommended that the HOMES Assessment be completed through the use of a visual scan of the area, as well as a conversation with the resident(s) of the environment.
Home Environment Index
Gail Steketee and Randy O. Frost, 2013
The Home Environment Index consists of 15 items designed to measure the degree to which hoarding behaviour has created problems of poor sanitation in a hoarded environment.
10 Steps to a Safer, Healthier, and
More Comfortable Home
Wellington Guelph Hoarding Network
The WGHR developed this tool as a way of opening the conversation about home safety with clients. The WGHR collaborated with local fire, public health, housing, animal and other services to create this tool, based on some of the common concerns found in homes with hoarding.
Initial Benchmarks for a Healthy and Safe Home
Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force
The Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force’s Initial Benchmarks for a Healthy and Safe Home provides 8 checklist items designed to reduce the risk in hoarded environments. These improve the overall safety of those with hoarding behaviour.
3. Ability to Use the Home
Activities of Daily Living – Hoarding
Gail Steketee and Randy O. Frost, 2013
The Activities of Daily Living-Hoarding survey consists of a list of 15 different activities. The survey is designed to be completed by the person with hoarding behaviour, who must rate the difficulty they experience in completing these activities on a scale of 1-5. This helps conceptualize how much their hoarding behaviour affects their ability to complete daily tasks.
Professional Organizations
International Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Foundation Hoarding Centre
IOCDF is an international organization focused on helping those affected by OCD and related disorders. Resources are available for people who hoard and community service providers as well as family and friends looking to help a loved one.
IOCDF provides a directory of international support groups for OCD and anxiety-related disorders, including hoarding disorder. Various treatment or support groups are offered for those with lived experience, as well as family and friends of loved ones with hoarding. Many groups are now being held online and accept international participants. The IOCDF also provides an online learning module to help inform people about hoarding.
A Guide to Effective Interventions by Barbara Glassheim of The Saginaw Hoarding Task Force
Created in part by the Saginaw Hoarding task force, this guide is meant to inform and educate about the proper and effective hoarding intervention practices.
Hoarding Resources by MassHousing
This page by Massachusetts Housing provides a list of online resources, as well as links to training sessions and events regarding hoarding.
Helping People with Hoarding Live in Healthier Homes by Metro Housing Boston Partnership
This 2015 article discusses a new approach to hoarding intervention spearheaded by the Hoarding Intervention and Tenancy Preservation Project. This method was successful in helping 98% of hoarding clients with housing retention.
Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force
The Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force is a coalition that seeks to improve outcomes for people who hoard and reduce the catastrophic consequences related to hoarding for residents of the City of Philadelphia.
Balancing the rights of the individual with the health and safety needs of the community, the task force works to provide individuals and organizations in the region with the tools they need to successfully overcome this challenging issue.
The Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force’s Initial Benchmarks for a Healthy and Safe Home provides 8 checklist items designed to reduce the risk in hoarded environments. These improve the overall safety of those with hoarding behaviour.
Wellington Guelph Hoarding Response
Based in Ontario, Canada, the Wellington Guelph Hoarding Response is a group of organizations committed to providing support and resources for hoarding. Support and resources are available for both individuals who have hoarding, and friends and family members of loved ones affected by hoarding.
Using the harm reduction approach, the Wellington Guelph Hoarding Response provides a list of 10 steps to improve health, safety, and comfort in the home. Click this link to view their resources page, including the 10 Steps Checklist: https://wghoardingresponse.ca/resources-support/
Books
The Hoarding Handbook: A Guide for Human Service Professionals (2011)
Christiana Bratiotis, Cristina Sorrentino Schmalisch, and Gail Steketee
