Using Hoarding Disorder With Person Centered Theory

The aim of this report is to examine key concepts of Person-Centred Counselling (PCC), as it's core theory, in understanding human behaviour. Focusing specifically in relation to Michael's issues from the case study (Appendix A) to critically assess it's appropriateness against other counselling theory. It will offer a brief historical overview of PCC and conclude with the writer's personal evaluation.

Thesis: Hoarding is seen as unhygienic and repulsive, but it is simply a disorder due to either genetics or as a coping mechanism to trauma. While it has been linked to other problems, researchers are still trying to find better treatments for the destructive habit causing emotional, physical, and legal effects.

While reading Garbology chapter one, I learned of an elderly couple who were retirees and stayed inside most of them time but their neighbors weren’t quite sure why. Here most recently their home had a stench coming from it but neighbors were unsure of why, until the elderly couples home had caught on fire. The facts of their home became known when the elderly man appeared from the smoke of the home, the man claimed to have gotten stuck in a tidal wave of “junk”. It appears the elderly couple the Gaston’s were hoarders but no one was aware their home was in as bad of shape as it turned out to be. I have watched the television show “Hoarders” many times, mainly because it amazes me that people from all around can accumulate so much and not even

The word hoarding was originally used to describe the behavior of animals storing food for future use, and then moved into use as a descriptor of human behavior. There are also different types of hoarders. These include Clinical compulsive hoarding, OCD or perfectionist hoarding, animal

Hoarding patients has a high rate of co-occurrence with the disorder performing an assessment is highly recommending. Professionals would want to rule out or see if there are attributable of any other medical conditions such as dementia, traumatic brain injury or alcoholism. Individuals that are diagnose with hoarding disorder needs therapy to assist with the disorder. It is important that social worker perform good assessment to provide the appropriate intervention. Hoarding disorder has many health risk that affect or incapacitate a person life and impair their functioning. There are many types of treatment for the hoarding disorder.

Many individuals are accustomed to waste at least a portion of what they buy, whether it is food, clothes, furniture, supplies, or materials worldwide. According to the article: “On Dumpster Diving” many valuable items were found by the homeless who searched the dumpster for food. Surprisingly, they found useful items that helped them survive throughout each day. In fact, the products were worth for the exchange of money. At certain times, I myself may be considered to be a wasteful person during certain times such as, not finishing my drink and throwing more than half of it away. While rushing at work during break, this is a usual situation for many people Although, it isn't necessarily on purpose it is considered wasteful, valuable and influence advertising.

People with hoarding behavior also may be suffering from a variety of other disorders. Many hoarders have problems with anxiety, separation anxiety, and attachment disorder (HelpGuide, 2010). Someone with separation anxiety and attachment disorder feels afraid to be apart from a certain person or object or is fearful of being alone. People with these attachment disorders or other attachment problems have difficulty connecting to others and

Anyone who suffers from a hoarding disorder knows the debilitating feeling that comes from living in a cluttered environment. Hoarding can result in physical, mental, social, emotional, and financial burdens. Each of these intense feelings can aggravate one another, causing a vicious cycle of events, which can eventually ruin a person’s life.

Gladding (2005) notes that person centered therapy is a form of counseling in which was founded by Carl Rogers in the early 1940’s. The purposes of this particular form of counseling is to emphasize the importance of empathy; caring, understanding and acceptance in which are all effective traits clients need to construct changes in their life. In person center therapy, Carl Rogers bases his therapy on the demonstration of empathy of a helper to a client in order to achieve successful change with a client. Even though empathy is an important trait needed to conduct therapy, there are a various effective traits in addition that could be utilized to encourage client progress.

Lien Hua a sixteen year old first generation Chinese American. Hua came to the school social work counselor complaining of feeling stressed. Hua explained that she is interested in pursuing social work when she goes away to college, however, her parents would like her to either practice medicine or law. She reported that just thinking of talking to her parents regarding her career choice is causing her immense stress. As a result of the stress she reports that her grades have dropped and she is socializing less. Hua has requested that the school social worker tell her what to say to her parents to help them understand her choice.

Hoarding has gained increased attention in recent years due to recent media television shows depicting the circumstances hoarders may live in. It can be difficult to determine when a person crosses from a simple over collecting behavior into a hoarding behavior. “Hoarding is a debilitating disorder characterized by the acquisition of a large volume of possessions that clutter living areas to such a degree that living spaces cannot be used of their intended purpose (Frost, Kim, Steketee, 2011).” Many people who tend to have hoarding behaviors are unaware of the severity of their actions and feel they are living in normal conditions. As Frank et al. (2014) states, “it is general agreed that when a person’s collecting affects his or her environment in such a way that causes danger to him or herself or others, intervention is necessary.” Although there is much research on adults with hoarding behaviors, there is limited research on the effects of hoarding among the elderly population. Hoarding behaviors among elderly adults can be seen as a danger to one’s health over time has it can harm their physical health, safety and overall well-being.

Hartord Hospital: A Hartford HealthCare Partner. (2012). Anxiety Disorders Center/Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Compulsive Hoarding. Retrieved from

Up to 5% of the world’s population displays some sign of clinic hoarding. Hoarding involves the compulsive acquisition and accumulation of objects, animals, and trash and other debris. The hoarder, who often has another mental illness such as depression, is unable or unwilling to discard items, frequently resulting in health and safety hazards to those who reside in or visit the dwelling (Hurd, 2015). Hoarding can affect many aspects of one’s life causing severe problems and can begin as early as adolescent years continuing through elderly life.

Shocking, surprising, and disturbing visuals on television shows broadcast safety personnel in hazmat suits rummaging through all the garbage and piled up belongings inside the house, while the hoarder pleads that everything inside their house is necessary. Hoarding can have harmful effects on an individual’s emotional, mental, physical, and financial health. In terms of their friends and family a hoarders relationship begins to diminish as their loved ones struggle to understand and cope with the disorder. Hoarding results in differing levels of anxiety and can even be the cause of other mental disorders such as schizophrenia and dementia. Hoarding is both a way to relieve anxiety as well as to produce it. It is a two way street, the more

What is hoarding? The Mayo Clinic defines compulsive hoarding disorder as a persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions because of a perceived need to save them. Hoarding often creates cramped living conditions. Some people collect stacks of paper, food or even animals. The symptoms, risk factors, complications and treatment of hoarding help to explain and define the concept of compulsive hoarding.