Problem:
I take a pro-psychotherapy stance for treating hoarding disorder. Hoarding is more than simple messiness and involves intense urges to save items, difficulty discarding, and clutter that disrupts daily life. The CHI Health (2019) video makes this clear by showing how hoarding creates safety hazards and emotional distress, not just untidiness. Barlow et al. (2018) explain that the disorder is maintained by avoidance behaviors and distorted beliefs about possessions, such as fearing that something valuable will be lost if it is thrown away. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective because it directly targets these patterns through gradual exposure to discarding and cognitive restructuring, helping clients challenge unhelpful thoughts and build tolerance for distress. Medication may sometimes help with co-occurring anxiety or depression, but it does not address the specific behaviors and thought processes that drive hoarding. Therapy, on the other hand, provides practical skills that lead to lasting change. It empowers clients to manage their emotions, reduce clutter, and resist acquiring unnecessary items. By focusing on the root causes rather than just the symptoms, psychotherapy remains the most effective first-line treatment for hoarding disorder (Barlow et al., 2018). Need Assignment Help?