Case Study 2 Title

An older gentleman came to me for help with his hoarding.  He was deeply troubled and ashamed of his hoarding. He was so focused on wanting to force himself to “clean out” that he did not see the other very wonderful and talented parts of himself.  He is a talented artist, but he could not allow himself to acknowledge this talent, explaining, “because I can’t clean up my mess.” Before retiring he had been a loved and gifted teacher. He has an innate ability to make other people feel heard and good about themselves. He was lonely and wanted to be in a relationship.  He would not let himself even entertain the idea of dating until, “I clean up.” Over time he came to understand that his hoarding was a part of himself and that one behavior did not define him. I educated him about the research on hoarding which informs us there is no agreement on the cause or the treatment of hoarding. In the end we were not able to get him to “clean up,” but he did develop an appreciation of his many wonderful qualities.  He was able to accept that he was not just a “hoarder.” He made the positive decision to sign up on a dating site.