UC San Diego

Objectives

To investigate the feasibility of an age-adapted, manualized behavioral treatment for geriatric hoarding.

Methods

Participants were 11 older adults (mean age: 66 years) with hoarding disorder. Treatment encompassed 24 individual sessions of psychotherapy that included both cognitive rehabilitation targeting executive functioning and exposure to discarding/not acquiring. Hoarding severity was assessed at baseline, mid-treatment, and posttreatment.

Results

Results demonstrated clinically and statistically significant changes in hoarding severity at posttreatment. No participants dropped out of treatment. Eight participants were classified as treatment responders, and three as partial responders. Partial responders reported severe/extreme hoarding and psychiatric comorbidities at baseline.

Conclusions

The combination of cognitive rehabilitation and exposure therapy is a promising approach in the treatment of geriatric hoarding. Targeting neurocognitive deficits in behavioral therapy for these geriatric patients with hoarding disorder doubled response rates relative to our previous trial of cognitive behavior therapy alone.