McGrath, M., Russell, A.M. orcid.org/0000-0002-8891-9059 and Masterson, C. orcid.org/0000-0002-8309-449X (2024) ‘A more human approach … I haven’t found that really’: experiences of hoarding difficulties and seeking help. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 52 (1). pp. 1-13. ISSN 1352-4658
Abstract
Background and aims: People with hoarding behaviours often struggle to engage in treatment. This study aimed to explore the experiences of a sample of people who identify as engaging in hoarding behaviours and who are seeking support. Exploring motivation to seek help, the barriers those who hoard face in accessing support and what facilitates accepting help, can aid understanding of how best to intervene.
Method: Eight individuals who self-identified as seeking help in relation to hoarding behaviours were recruited via social media and support groups. Interviews were conducted by telephone or video call, before being transcribed and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Results: Participants described complex help-seeking narratives and reported continued ambivalence about addressing their hoarding behaviours. The four group experiential themes identified were Wrestling with identity; Who can I trust?; Services don’t fit; and Being overlooked: ‘they’re too busy looking at the thing, not the person’. Difficulties trusting others and services were identified; services were experienced as rejecting and many participants sought help for problems other than their hoarding. Problems accessing appropriate help for hoarding were predominant in the narratives, although participants who had accessed peer support described this as valuable.
Conclusions: There are both internal (e.g. fear of judgement; feeling overwhelmed) and external (e.g. service gaps) barriers that make finding useful help for hoarding behaviours very difficult. Services may facilitate those seeking help by taking a compassionate and person-centred approach to hoarding problems.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s), 2023. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Help-seeking; Help-seeking intention; Hoarding; Mental health; Service-users |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (Leeds) > Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 13 Nov 2023 10:33 |
Last Modified: | 22 Mar 2024 10:02 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.1017/s1352465823000425 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:205159 |