Support Groups- What They Are and What They Do
by Carol Ransall, MA
http://www.genetichealth.com/Resources_Support_Groups_What_They_Are_and_What_They_Do.shtml

Peninsula Community Services, Inc. sponsoring
On-Going Hoarding Support Groups and (CBT )Treatment Group
LOCATION:  Mills Hospital Health Center Conference Rm 4104   
                   100 S. San Mateo Drive, San Mateo, CA 
CONTACT:   A. Merrifield at 343-4380 to Pre register
2 Groups - Book Based- Peer Support Thursdays evening 2x a month - nominal fee
1 - CBT Treatment Group meets weekly. Fee. Enrollment numbers are limited

Next CBT Treatment Group begins in the summer of 2012

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.
For more info phone: (415) 421-2926 Fax: (415) 421-2928 www.mha-sf.org .
http://www.mha-sf.org/programs/hoard.cfm

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                                                       

 

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/



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

On Line Support