Bay Area Resources

SUPPORT GROUPS
 



A Support Group May Help !

Do you live in San Mateo or Santa Clara county?
Have a Clutter/ Hoarding problem?
Feeling a bit overwhelmed?


Peninsula Community Services, Inc. is interested in exploring the possibility of establishing an on-going,
in-person, self-help support group for persons experiencing chronic cluttering/ hoarding problems.
No such group currently exists for residents of San Mateo or Santa Clara counties specific to hoarding.

Do you reside on the peninsula and  believe that being in a self-help group would be helpful to you?  If so,
please help PCS determine if there is sufficient interest and need in forming an in-person support group by completing
the short questionnaire below. You may also contact Linda Merrifield at 650 - 343-7489 or  lmerrifield@comcast.net.

Click here to take survey



What kind of support groups are there?
Go to the following web site for description of various kinds of support groups and how to start one.
http://www.ocfoundation.org/hoarding/support-groups/online-self-help-support-groups.php



Group Treatment for Hoarding
by Jordana Muroff, Ph.D.
Boston University

Group interventions may be especially useful strategies to help people with hoarding problems. When people
with a similar problem come together, it can sometimes reduce isolation and shame and increase motivation,
substantial obstacles for many individuals with hoarding. Listening to others’ experiences and sharing ones’ own
may be inspirational and instill hope. Group members can support one another with understanding how their
hoarding behavior may be influenced by their thoughts and emotions and also assist each other with various skills
(e.g., sorting, creating rules for acquiring) during group time and sometimes between group sessions.

Group therapy for hoarding typically includes 6 to 8 people who meet with a clinician once a week for 20 weeks.
The group sessions cover understanding how hoarding works, problem-solving and organizational skills, sorting
and removing possessions, and decreasing the tendency to acquire more things. These strategies are described in
Steketee and Frost’s (2007) client workbook and in Tolin, Frost and Steketee’s (2007) Buried in Treasures. Groups
sometimes arrange home visits by the group leader to help each participant apply the skills at home where the problem
is based. A recent study of the effects of group cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) for hoarding showed moderately
good benefits for the participants (Muroff et al., 2009). Additionally, group treatments have been found helpful for problems
that are commonly linked to hoarding such as social anxiety and depression.

Group interventions may also take the form of self-help support groups for hoarding. These groups can include more
participants and can be led by peers or trained coaches who are not necessarily mental health professionals. Participants
in a recent study of the benefits of self-help groups that were led by undergraduate student coaches showed substantial
improvement in their hoarding problems (Pekareva-Kochergine & Frost, 2009). Self-help support groups can also be web-based.
In these, participants correspond through internet chat groups, postings, and other methods. A recent study evaluated an internet
CBT-based self-help group that has been peer-led for over 10 years. On-line group members reported moderate improvement,
especially those who had been in the group for longer periods (Muroff et al., 2010).

Because there are relatively few mental health providers who are trained in interventions aimed to reduce hoarding, group
interventions are good alternatives that give more people access to clinicians and coaches who can help. Group methods
may also be more affordable for hoarding sufferers




The Mental Health Association of San Francisco (MHA-SF) is a non-profit citizen's organization dedicated to improving
the mental health of residents in the diverse communities of San Francisco through advocacy, education, research and service.
http://www.mha-sf.org/programs/hoard.cfm

The following are the dates, times, and locations for upcoming support group meetings in 2010.

Date Time Location
May
Wednesday, July 7 3-4pm MHA-SF, 870 Market Street, #928
Monday, July 12 6-7pm MHA-SF, 870 Market Street, #928
Wednesday, July 21 3-4pm MHA-SF, 870 Market Street, #928
Wednesday, July 28 6-7pm MHA-SF, 870 Market Street, #928
 
August
Monday, August 2 3-4pm MHA-SF, 870 Market Street, #928
Monday, August 9 6-7pm MHA-SF, 870 Market Street, #928
Wednesday, August 18 3-4pm MHA-SF, 870 Market Street, #928
Wednesday, August 25 6-7pm MHA-SF, 870 Market Street, #928
 
September
Monday, September 6 6-7pm MHA-SF, 870 Market Street, #928
Monday, September 13 3-4pm MHA-SF, 870 Market Street, #928
Wednesday, September 22 6-7pm MHA-SF, 870 Market Street, #928
Wednesday, September 29 3-4pm MHA-SF, 870 Market Street, #928
 



Clutterers Anonymous is an organization for people who struggle with the clutter in their lives.
World Service Organization is at: PO Box 25884, Santa Ana, CA 92799-5884
Phone meetings 1-800 871-9012 access code 6705172 #.
http://www.clutterersanonymous.net/  
http://www.eventbrite.com/org/294694522?s=1343391                                                       

 

                                                        Clutterers Anonymous Meetings Face to Face :

San Francisco
Sunday, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. 
The Alano Club, 2nd Floor,
1748 Market Street, at Octavia Blvd. next to 101 Freeway entrance.

Los Altos
Monday,  7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Once a month, 3rd Monday unless a holiday. 
Los Altos Town Crier (2nd floor), 138 Main Street, (rear entrance-State St)   
Los Gatos Calvary Church, Room D112, 16330 Los Gatos Blvd
Wednesday 7:15 – 8:45 PM
- FIRST MEETING: October 7, 2009
 
Rancho Cordova
Thursday, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.    
Rancho Cordova / Sacramento Area , Sun River Church,  Children’s Ministries Building, E26 (2nd FLR)                                         
Building w/ramp, next to Administration  Building, 11223 Trinity River Drive (off Sunrise Blvd.)

Berkeley
Tuesday, 10:00 - 11:00 AM. 
Epworth United Methodist Church, 1953 Hopkins St.


Walnut Creek               
Thursday, 7:15 - 8:45 PM. 
St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, Class Room #9, 2491 San Miguel Drive

ClutterLess Self Help Group 
When: Mondays 7- 8:30 p.m. , 
Where: St. Mary & St. Joseph Coptic Church, Room 7, 4300 Mirador Dr.  
Call: Just come, or call Volunteer 925-200-1943
 

The International OCD Foundation - http://www.ocfoundation.info/hoarding/index.php
 

 

The OCFoundation also has information about local Bay Area support groups, most of them being for OCD 
in general.  You can check their listing of support groups by going here:
http://ocd-bayarea.com  
 

 OCD Support Groups - SF Bay Area

San Francisco  
Phone: (415) 665-9172
E-Mail: disi@igc.org
Open To: Individuals with OCD
Meeting Time: 1st Tuesday of each month, 7:30-9:30pm
Venue: San Francisco OCD Mutual Help Support Group, UCSF, Clinical Bldg. 521 Parnassus Ave.
(between 3rd/4th Ave.) Room C-517
Fee: Free
Group: Mutual Help
Additional To join our online support or to view a listing of therapists specializing in anxiety
disorder (serving the entire SF Bay Area)
Website:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SFOCD

Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Contact: OCF San Francisco Bay Area Affiliate, Scott Granet, President, Neal Horovitz,
Vice President , Paula Kotakis
Daly City  
Phone: (415) 273-7273
Open To: Anyone with OCD, spectrum disorder, families and friends
Meeting Times: 3rd Saturday of each month, 1:30-3:30pm
Venue: 1900 Sullivan Ave. Daly City, Conference Room by the Cafeteria on second floor
Fee: Free
Group Description: Mutual Help
Additional Information:  
Website: http://ocd-bayarea.com 

Santa Clara

Santa Clara OCD support group
1st Saturday of the month
Kaiser Santa Clara, 710 Lawrence Expressway
10:00am to 12:00pm
To confirm meeting is happening, please contact Judy at ocdsouthbay@yahoo.com

Berkeley
Berkeley OCD support group

Second and last Saturday of the month 
3:00 to 5pm                  
CalvaryPresbyterian   Church,                                                                                                                            
1940 Virginia Street, Berkeley
For further information
Call the facilitator Norm at (510)-841-3102


 

Messies Anonymous is an organization for people who struggle with messiness.
Messies Anonymous: 5025 SW 114th Ave.
, Miami, FL 33165. 1-800-MESS AWAY
On their website, they provide links to many on-line support groups, including one
for hoarders and one for friends of hoarders. The main site is:

http://www.messies.com/
The link for the Messies Anonymous hoarding on-line support group is:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Messiness-and-Hoarding/


 


On Line Support


Stepping Out Of Squalors
Very helpful on line support group, at
http://takeonestepatatime.proboards80.com/index.cgi.



For Parents, mates, friends or children of hoarders
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mates-of-Messies
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Friends-of-Hoarders




FlyLady.net
Find some really good guidance and tips here for starting the process of cleaning up and getting organized.


 

 

 


 

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