Hoarding and Healing: Reimagining Our Relationships with Our Belongings

Abstract

This hermeneutic research uses a depth psychological perspective to evaluate four texts that describe approaches to working with the phenomena of hoarding and with persons who hoard. The texts are similar in that they reject use of the shame-inducing word hoarder. Although they avoid explicitly addressing the causes of hoarding, each text considers the role of early attachment issues, trauma, or loss as factors related to hoarding behaviors. The texts depart from one another in that two recommend cognitive behavioral therapy and two recommend a relational approach. Current definitions of hoarding focus on the difficulty persons have discarding their possessions. Evidence shows that treatments that focus on acquiring less and discarding more are often unsuccessful. This research, inspired by the original Old Saxon word hord meaning “treasure, hidden or inmost place,” suggests that hoarding is not primarily about the belongings themselves but about one’s attunement to one’s inner world. A depth psychological approach could help clients explore the connections between their “inmost place” and their home environment as they work to bring order to their homes.