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Evaluation ViewAttendees 4

Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders
Session Type:: Symposia

Symposium 67 - Hoarding in the Social World: Vulnerabilities and Interpersonal Processes

Sunday, November 23, 2025
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM CST
Location: Imperial 12, Level 4
CE: 1.5

Keywords: Hoarding, Change Process / Mechanisms, Stigma
Level of Familiarity: Advanced
Recommended Readings: Chen, W., Denson, T. F., Timpano, K. R., Kocol, O., & Grisham, J. R. (2024). An investigation of the multifaceted components of anger and hoarding symptoms. Personality and Individual Differences, 222, 112582.,   Kocol, O., Sabel, I., Timpano, K. R., & Grisham, J. R. (2025). The significance of growing up in a hoarded home: using natural language processing to examine the experiences of adult children of hoarding parents on Reddit. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 100938.,   Bates, S., De Leonardis, A. J., Corrigan, P. W., & Chasson, G. S. (2020). Buried in stigma: experimental investigation of the impact of hoarding depictions in reality television on public perception. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 26, 100538.,   Chen, W., McDonald, S., Wearne, T., & Grisham, J. (2021). Investigating associations between hoarding symptoms and affective and cognitive empathy. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60(2), 177-193.,  

Hoarding disorder—marked by extreme difficulties with discarding one’s possessions and debilitating clutter—represents a hidden public health burden that affects between 3-5% of the population. Hoarding is heritable and chronic, often marked by high comorbidity and involvement of social services. There is also a growing appreciation for the fact that hoarding has serious ramifications, not just for the patient, but for their families and even their community. In addition to health and safety concerns related to severe levels of clutter, hoarding has also been linked with greater interpersonal difficulties. Relatives of hoarding patients endorse increased familial burden and greater family disability, and hoarding patients have been found to have high rates of social isolation. Surprisingly, few studies have carefully characterized interpersonal factors in relation to hoarding, and it therefore remains unclear the exact nature of the processes implicated and the degree to which these processes play a role in the etiology and/or maintenance of hoarding. Gaining more insight into this topic is paramount because hoarding is notoriously challenging to treat, and interpersonal factors have been identified as a potentially fruitful target for future intervention research. This symposium will summarize and discuss recent advances in our understanding of interpersonal processes, which can be directly translated into potential avenues for future etiological and treatment investigations, and eventual practical treatment administration.

Greg Chasson and Sage Bates will present work on expanding our understanding of how others view hoarding and what effect this may have on individuals with hoarding. Using a qualitative investigation of detailed interviews with hoarding patients, the investigation specifically examines stigma about hoarding disorder from the perspective of those with lived experience. Oskar Kokol will turn the lens on the impact of hoarding disorder on family members. Using natural language processing he will discuss insights into the lived experience of adult children of hoarding parents, with a particular focus on their support needs and unique concerns. The final two presentations will present data on specific factors that may underly social difficulties or social dysfunction often observed in hoarding patients. Kayla Lord will clarify the nature of social cognitive deficits and abilities in relation to hoarding disorder, examining the link between theory of mind and social dysfunction. Finally, Wenting Chen will highlight work examining the association between hoarding and the multifaceted construct of anger, along with how different facets of anger might differentially relate with common interpersonal difficulties in hoarding.

David Tolin will serve as discussant for the symposium. The interplay between basic research on interpersonal processes and treatment development and/or refinement will be discussed. Future avenues of research on hoarding and related disorders will also be addressed.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. At the end of the session, the learner will understand how the stigma associated with hoarding may impact upon individuals with the disorder.
  2. The learner will know several key interpersonal factors (impaired social cognition, anger) to assess and include in hoarding case formulations.
  3. The learner will be able to consider initial clinical strategies via which these interpersonal factors may be addressed in hoarding treatment.

Presentations:

  • 2:06 PM - 2:27 PM CST
    (SYM 67) The Lasting Effects of Growing up in a Hoarded Home: Using Natural Language Processing to Examine the Experiences of Adult Children of Hoarding Parents

    Speaker: Kiara Timpano, PhD (she/her/hers) – University of Miami

  • 2:27 PM - 2:48 PM CST
    (SYM 67) Understanding the Experience and Expression of Anger in Hoarding

    Speaker: Jessica R. Grisham, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – UNSW Sydney

    Co-author: Wenting Chen, Other – UNSW Sydney

    Co-author: Phaedra Fuller, BA (Hons) (she/her/hers) – UNSW

    Co-author: Tom Denson, PhD (he/him/his) – UNSW

    Co-author: Kiara Timpano, PhD (she/her/hers) – University of Miami

  • 2:48 PM - 3:09 PM CST
    (SYM 67) Qualitative Investigation of Stigma Experiences of Individuals Living with Hoarding Disorder

    Speaker: Gregory S. Chasson, Ph.D., ABPP, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – University of Chicago

    Co-author: Sage Bates, PhD (she/her/hers) – Cognitive Behavioral Associates of Chicago

    Co-author: Gregory S. Chasson, Ph.D., ABPP, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – University of Chicago

  • 3:09 PM - 3:30 PM CST
    (SYM 67) Social Cognition in Obsessive-compulsive and Hoarding Disorders

    Speaker: Kayla Lord, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Anxiety Disorders Center, The Institute of Living

    Co-author: Kayla Lord, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Anxiety Disorders Center, The Institute of Living

    Co-author: Sonata I. Black, B.A. – Anxiety Disorders Center, The Institute of Living

    Co-author: David F. Tolin, ABPP, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – Anxiety Disorders Center, The Institute of Living