New Treatment Offers Hope for 1 in 40 Americans with Hoarding Disorder

Published December 21, 2023

Most of us have at least a few prized possessions we’d have a hard time letting go of. But those with a hoarding disorder—about 1 person in 40 in the United States—are compelled to hold onto the majority of their belongings, even when doing so means severely cluttered surroundings that decrease their quality of life and jeopardize their safety through increased risk of fire, mold or rodent infestation, or personal injury.

“People with a hoarding disorder have even died from items in their homes collapsing on them,” says Brad Schmidt, a distinguished research professor of psychology at Florida State University.

While there are a few established treatments available for hoarding disorder, experts say novel treatments are needed. Now scientists at Stanford University are exploring a new strategy that uses virtual reality technology to help individuals with hoarding disorder experience the sensation and benefits of decluttering.

“This is the first study that allows patients with hoarding disorder to practice letting go of treasured objects while in simulations of their own homes,” says Carolyn Rodriguez, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine and the lead author on the study.

A first-of-its-kind study

The recent pilot study, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, shows that therapy powered by a virtual reality headset and handheld controllers can help those who hoard practice relinquishing their possessions using a simulation of their home before they declutter the space in real life.

“We know that the core of hoarding disorder involves an attachment to items and difficulty letting go, so practicing doing so is one of the treatments embedded in this research,” says Rodriguez.

The study was conducted over 16 weeks and allowed its participants—all diagnosed with hoarding disorder—to enter virtual models of their homes to practice sorting and discarding items to which they felt attached. The virtual layout of their home and possessions was created with photos that were uploaded to create a 3D simulation, so the items were known and valued by each participant before they practiced throwing them out.

Rodriguez says that “78 percent of participants noted that virtual reality helped them increase real-life discarding.”

Such results are promising, especially when considering that the study’s participants ranged in age from 60 to 73 years old—the group in which hoarding is most common.

While about 2.6 percent of the population generally struggles with the disorder, its prevalence is known to be “as high as 6 percent” in older individuals, says Randy Frost, a Smith College professor emeritus of psychology and a co-author of the book Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things. 

Building on previous research

The Stanford study builds on work done at the University of Chicago that was published in 2020,

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