Organizing Through The Hoarding:

Guidance for Professional Organizers

How are clients who hoard different from my other clients?

Why is it so difficult for my clients to get a handle on their clutter?

What strategies can I use when working with my clients?

How did possessions take control of their lives?

This day-long training is exclusively for Professional Organizers and those who are working with clients in extremely cluttered environments. Through a blend of lecture and discussion, led by Elspeth Bell, Ph.D., participants will:

• Learn about Hoarding Disorder
• Identify ways to support clients with hoarding problems
• Address barriers in the working relationship with regards to hoarding
• Develop strategies for working toward reducing clutter
• Connect with hoarding-specific resources

Additional topics addressed include:

• Characteristics of Hoarding Disorder
• Mental health issues associated with hoarding behaviors
• Maintaining Balance and Boundaries

This workshop is open to Professional Organizers and other clutter specialists ($125/person)and is considered CEU-Eligible for CPOs working with hoarding clients.

SCHEDULE

Coffee is available

9am – 12pm     Understanding The Client

• Identifying hoarding behaviors and how they differ from cluttering behaviors

• Recognizing the mental health elements associated with hoarding behaviors

• Assessing for possible hoarding behaviors in your client

• Incorporating an understanding of underlying hoarding issues into decluttering plans

12 – 1pm     Lunch On Your Own

1 – 4pm     In The Cluttered Home

• Strategies for engaging with your hoarding client in the decluttering process

• Creating goals and realistic interventions

• Identifying opportunities for collaboration with other professionals

• Incorporating self-care into your work with hoarding clients