Assessment and treatment of hoarding disorder

Objectives: To provide a brief selective review of the current literature regarding Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition Hoarding Disorder, with an emphasis on its associated risks, assessment and management approaches.

Conclusions: Hoarding disorder is defined by clear diagnostic criteria. It can be a severe and disabling disorder that can pose significant safety risks to the individual and to others. Management is often challenging, due to the poor level of insight that people with hoarding disorder often have. Psychological approaches tend to adapt cognitive-behavioural approaches, in order to specifically target areas such as impaired decision-making and motivation. Several trials of pharmacological agents have been conducted, but the limitations of these studies call for further research.