Digging Out

by Tompkins, Michael A., Ph.d.; Hartl, Tamara L.

• ISBN13: 9781572245945
• ISBN10: 1572245948
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-11-01
• Publisher: New Harbinger Pubns Inc

Summary

Most people who hoard do not think there is anything wrong with their impulses, nor do they fully understand the extent of their problem. This book is not for them. Digging Out is for the concerned and frustrated friends and family members of hoarders, whose ongoing struggles to guide their loved ones to a healthier way of life are too often met with resistance and hostility.

Author Biography

Michael A. Tompkins, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist and a founding partner of the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and a founding fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy. Tamara L. Hartl, Ph.D., is an independent clinical practitioner in Saratoga, CA, and a psychologist at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. Hard has coauthored several seminal publications on hoarding behavior.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
For Those Who Are Open to Help: Treatments That Work
Why They Refuse Help
Digging Out
How to Use This Book
What Is Compulsive Hoarding?	p. 13
Defining Compulsive Hoarding
Why Save That?
Why People Keep Hoarding
How Do You Know if Your Loved One Has the Problem?
Could It Be Something Else?
Harm Reduction	p. 27
What Is Harm Reduction?
Applying Harm Reduction to Compulsive Hoarding
Why Harm Reduction Can Help
Setting the Stage for Harm Reduction	p. 35
Let Go
Understand
Forgive
Grab Hold
Helping Them Accept Help	p. 51
Engaging Your Loved One in the Harm Reduction Approach
Introducing Your Loved One to the Harm Reduction Approach
Assessing Harm Potential	p. 71
Conducting the Home Assessment
Acquisition Pathways
Identifying Harm Reduction Targets
Creating a Harm Reduction Plan	p. 95
Features of a Harm Reduction Plan
Putting the Harm Reduction Team Together
Creating the Harm Reduction Plan
Formalizing the Harm Reduction Contract
Keeping the Harm Reduction Targets Clear	p. 113
Step Carefully: Seven Steps to Successful Home Visits
Why Do You Have This Here?
L.E.A.R.N.: Listen, Empathize, Affirm, Redirect, and Negotiate
Skills for the Long Term
Managing the Bumps in the Road	p. 135
Six Common Reasons for Contract Failures
Working Through Contract Failures
Avoiding Contract Burnout
Using Appropriate Pressure
Making the Best of a Public Situation
All in the Family and Other Complications	p. 153
When People Who Hoard Live Together
When People Who Hoard Live in Assisted-Care Facilities
When the Person Who Hoards Is an Older Adult
How Frailty Influences Harm Reduction
When the Landlord Knocks, and Other Terrors	p. 165
There Are No "Bad Guys," Only Potential Team Members
Adult and Child Protective Services
Health and Safety Codes
Guardianship or Conservatorship
Eviction Notices
Clear-Out Interventions
Resources	p. 179
Recommended Reading
Professionals Who Can Help
Support Groups
Other Resources
Tips for Managing Paper, Mail, and E-mail
Where to Donate or Recycle
Reference	p. 187
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.