Last week, our company was called out on a fire call to do fire damage restoration services at a home in Philadelphia. We have gone on many such calls in the last 3 ½ years. However, this call was different. When we arrived, the fire department was just leaving, after having satisfied themselves that this building was no longer at risk for burning. What we found inside was daunting. Every room in this small two bedroom one bathroom home was filled with “stuff.” But, when I say filled, I mean from the floor to the ceiling in every room, including the bathroom. So much “stuff” that there was no place to walk except through narrow 18 inch pathways to and from each room.

Imagine piles and piles and stacks of stuff - discards from daily living: Pizza boxes, soda bottles, opened cans food, books, papers, magazines, and clothing. All of this mixed in with pet toys, pet excrement, and pet odor. We had been called out to the home of a hoarder. 

So shocked by what we found in the house in Philadelphia, I started to do a little research. What I discovered is that hoarding is a natural tendency in all animals, including humans.  However, for some individuals, the tendency goes awry for lack of internal mental and emotional controls.

So how does the natural hoarding tendency work?

It goes like this: imagine you have a pair of jeans that you love. You’ve had these jeans for several years and they’ve been with you during some of the best times of your life. You’ve worn them well. You’ve worn them out. Now, you don’t wear them at all because there are holes are in inappropriate places that can’t be seen in public.  However, you’re loathe to get rid of them because of all the happy memories you associate with wearing them. So, they stay in the bottom of your drawer, underneath your new jeans.

Admit it, we all have something like that in our homes.

Media accounts of hoarding have a long history in the United States going back to the Collyer brothers who both died in March of 1947 in their Harlem mansion because they starved and were smothered by their “stuff.” Recently, the 2009 show Hoarders that airs on A&E and the 2010 documentary Hoarding: Buried Alive that airs on TLC, have raised public awareness of hoarding and its dangers. Along with the “fire trap” danger we witnessed in the Philadelphia home, there is also a danger of disease and infection from rodent and pest infestation. (see http://www.firehouse.com/topics/firefighter-safety/know-your-stuff-you-find-yourself-house-full-it )

There is no clear “hoarding diagnosis” listed in the DSM-V, the psychiatric “bible” of diagnostic and statistical information used to categorize mental illness. And many professionals are stumped because unlike typical obsessive-compulsive disorders, people who exhibit hoarding behaviors don’t respond to standard antidepressant drug treatment. (see http://discovermagazine.com/2004/oct/psychology-of-hoarding )

What makes hoarders different from the rest of us is the immediate physical danger, pain and suffering they have created for themselves in the present because they have been trying to avoid the pain and suffering of letting go of the past.

For many people, the hoarding behaviors don’t start until later in life. After an aged mother or father dies, the family arrives at the home of the deceased parent only to find that they have to clean out the stock-piled memories of their parent’s lives. And then it’s time to clean out so the home can be sold. For others, the tendency to hoard begins as early as age 12.

For the couple living in the Philadelphia home with the fire, no one knows when the hoarding tendency started.  The family member who owned the home was shocked when she saw the property.  We did what we do best: assisting the homeowner and the residents with caring and compassion by taking the time to educate them about the process of the cleanup and the steps we were going to take to bring the property back to habitable conditions. There is still much work to do on this property and I will keep you posted in a future blog to let you know how it’s going.

Unfortunately, our work is only the first step. Rehabilitating the home by completely clearing the debris and cleaning and repairing the structure will only return it to use by the homeowner. The residents will need to seek rehabilitation too so that the hoarding problem doesn’t come home with them when they move back in.

There are several websites (e.g., http://childrenofhoarders.com ) dedicated to assisting hoarders and their families with the overwhelming task of cleaning up and clearing out. And now, many cities and states have municipal task forces assigned to assist hoarders and their families if only to prevent fires and the spread of disease.

If you or someone you love has a problem with hoarding in the Philadelphia area and would like help, I’ve listed some of the mental health professionals in our area with their contact information who specialize in treating hoarding disorders. This is not an exhaustive list, but information I obtained through the http://childrenofhoarders.com website. If you know of other mental health resources in the Greater Philadelphia and South Jersey area, please contact me and I will include that information here as well.

Christine Molnar, PhD
Center for Mindful Exposure Therapy of Anxiety & Psychological Wellness
1800 Horace Ave
Ground Floor
Abington, PA 19001  
Phone: (267) 287-8347
Email: Chris@molnarpsychology.com
Website: www.meta4stress.com

Amy Bollenbacher Young, Professional Counselor
112 Bala Avenue
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004  
Phone: (610).667.6490
Email: abollenbacher@verizon.net

Brigette A. Erwin, PhD
Anxiety & Agoraphobia Treatment Center    
112 Bala Avenue
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004  
Phone: (610) 667-6490

Lori J. Kasmen, PsyD
Anxiety & Agoraphobia Treatment Center
112 Bala Avenue
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004  
Phone: (610) 667-6490
Email: lkasmen@gmail.com

David A. Raush, Ph.D
Anxiety & Agoraphobia Treatment Center
112 Bala Avenue
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004  
Phone: (610) 667-6490
Fax: (610) 667-1744

Jodi S. Rosenfeld, PsyD AATC
112 Bala Avenue
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19460  
Phone: (610).667.6490
Email: rosenfeldpsyd@comcast.net

Linda B. Welsh Ed.D. AATC
112 Bala Avenue
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19103  
Phone: (610).667.6490
Email: lindawelsh@aol.com

Peter G. Aubuchon, PhD
One Bala Avenue – Suite 230
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004  
Phone: (610) 667-6055

Shelley Milestone, PhD
30 Sanringham Road
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19064  
Phone: (610) 664-6993

Steven Adelman, PhD
8302 Old York Road – Suite 2 Briarhouse
Elkins Park, PA 19027   (Also an office in Philadelphia)
Phone: (215) 884-4557
Email: adelman25@aol.com

Shelley Milestone, PhD
255 S. 17th Street #1907
Philadelphia, PA 19103  
Phone: (610).664.6993
Email: smilestone@comcast.net

Edna B. Foa, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
215-746-3327
Martin E. Franklin, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
215-746-3327

Johanna H. Gorman, MD
45 Ridge Road
Phoenixville, PA 19460  
Phone: (610) 933-7749
Fax: (610) 935-4947

Sally A. Allen, MS.Ed
Rosemont Counseling Associates
1062 Lancaster Avenue – Suite 9
Rosemont, PA 19010  
Phone: (610) 525-1510
Fax: (610) 525-2586
Website: www.rosemontcounseling.com

Judith Kolman, PhD
Rosemont Counseling Associates
1062 Lancaster Avenue # 9
Rosemont, PA 19010  
Phone: (610) 525-1510

Marilyn Barkan-Wood, M.Ed, LPC
BTI Graduate
990 Congress Street
Whitehall, PA 18052  
Phone: (610) 821-8929

David A. Raush, PhD
13 E. Laurel Road
Stratford, NJ 08084  
Phone: (856) 482-5860 or (856) 783-0260
Email: Daraush@aol.com

Perry H. Zand, MD, PC
620 N Broad Street – 2nd Floor
Woodbury, NJ 08096  
Phone: (856) 662-1122
Fax: (856) 429-4212