Compulsive hoarders require help from mental-health professionals ...

February's tragic tally: Three Portland homes overstuffed with possessions and debris caught fire. Two men and one dog died.

The horrible events thrust compulsive hoarding into the headlines, and if history serves, it's bound to land there again. Yet, few resources exist in the Portland area for hoarders who want help, or for those seeking to help them.

Hoarding, or compulsively buying, acquiring and keeping items of little or no value, can in the worst cases result in fatalities such as those in Portland. Fire agencies consider the practice a danger to their personnel, who too frequently must negotiate around clutter as they try to save lives or structures.

For hoarders themselves, the compulsion can result in enormous emotional, physical, social, financial or legal tolls.

The practice frequently associated with the spectrum of obsessive-compulsive personality disorders has been noted throughout human history. Those who hoard papers or mementos or clothes -- whatever it might be -- do so, says Dr. Johan Rosqvist of Pacific Psychology Clinic, because they think they might need the items later, believe they need them to trigger memories, or because they simply love their things and want to keep them.

Yet, they bring far more into their homes than they take out. Eventually, like a bathtub with the stopper left in, their homes overflow.

"Hoarders really do need formal help," Rosqvist says. "I've yet to meet one who can sort it out on their own."

Few, however, believe they have a problem and few seek treatment.

"What doesn't work," says Dr. James Hancey, director of the outpatient psychiatry clinic at Oregon Health & Science University, "is to go in and clear it out for them. They just fill it back up."

Compulsive hoarders must agree to treatment; it can't be thrust upon them. It might involve medications, such as those used to treat depression or anxiety, and/or cognitive behavioral therapy. A handful of Portland-area therapy groups designed for those with OCD include some members who have problems with hoarding.

Some therapists work one-on-one with patients, helping them get to the root of why they cling to possessions so they can learn to let go.

Rosqvist leads a formal team of Pacific University therapists-in-training who work with individuals in their own homes, storage units or cars -- wherever they stash stuff. They build trust, then help the individuals sort through and dispose of, recycle or give away goods. The process can take many months.

Treatment, however, is no magic cure, says Dr. Robert W. McLellarn, director of the Anxiety and Panic Treatment Center in Southwest Portland. "Successes are limited."

Local resources include:

GROUPS/CLINICS

-- At OHSU, Hancey runs a free, twice monthly group open to anyone with a primary diagnosis of OCD. A number of members have problems with hoarding. Those who attend sometimes get behavioral assignments to work on between meetings; group members often help one another by sharing strategies that work for them. Learn more: 503-494-8613.

-- McLellarn, of the Anxiety and Panic Treatment Center, runs a weekly OCD group for his patients and it frequently includes patients with hoarding issues. If enough patients are interested, he says, he'll start a hoarding-specific therapy group. Contact the clinic: 971-645-0033.

-- Pacific Psychology Clinic, affiliated with Pacific University, has offices in downtown Portland and Hillsboro. Some of its therapists, led by Rosqvist, work with hoarders in their homes, when invited, and help those with limited budgets.

Portland office: 503-352-2400 ?

Hillsboro office: 503-352-7333 ?

Online.

-- Anxiety Treatment Institute: Rosqvist also works through this new clinic in Southwest Portland, 503-830-7905.

LEARN MORE ONLINE

The International OCD Foundation has a fact-packed website and it includes information on how to choose a therapist specifically skilled at helping those who hoard, and offers a treatment-provider database, which includes a handful of Portland-area therapists who specialize in the problem.

- Katy Muldoon; twitter.com/katymuldoon

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2012/03/compulsive_hoarders_require_he.html

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