Acceptability of Treatments and Services for Individuals with Hoarding Behaviors.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the acceptability of currently available treatments and services for individuals who self-report hoarding behaviors.


METHODS
Between 10/2013 and 8/2014, participants were invited to complete an online survey that provided them descriptions of eleven treatments and services for hoarding behaviors and asked them to evaluate their acceptability using quantitative (0 [not at all acceptable] -10 [completely acceptable]) Likert scale ratings. Thea prioridefinition of acceptability for a given resource was an average Likert scale score of six or greater. Two well-validated self-report measures assessed hoarding symptom severity: the Saving Inventory-Revised and the Clutter Image Rating Scale.


RESULTS
Two hundred and seventy two participants who self-reported having hoarding behaviors completed the questionnaire. Analyses focused on the 73% of responders (n=203) who reported clinically significant hoarding behaviors (i.e., Saving Inventory-Revised scores of ≥40). The three most acceptable treatments were individual cognitive behavioral therapy (6.2 ±3.1 on the Likert scale), professional organizing service (6.1 ±3.2), and use of a self-help book (6.0 ±3.0).


CONCLUSIONS
In this sample of individuals with self-reported clinically significant hoarding behaviors (n=203), only 3 out of 11 treatments and services for hoarding were deemed acceptable using ana prioriscore. While needing replication, these findings indicate the need to design more acceptable treatments and services to engage clients and maximize treatment outcomes for hoarding disorder.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA; Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA.
Carolyn I
CI
Rodriguez
Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY.
Amanda
A
Levinson
New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY1 10032; Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032.
Sapana R
SR
Patel
Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY.
Kim
K
Rottier
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Jordana
J
Zwerling
New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY1 10032; Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032.
Susan
S
Essock
Mutual Support Consulting, Easthampton, MA, 01027.
Lee
L
Shuer
Smith College, Department of Psychology, Northampton, MA. 01063.
Randy O
RO
Frost
New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY1 10032; Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032.
Helen Blair
HB
Simpson
CBT; Hoarding Disorder; SRI; Stimulant; Treatment Acceptability