Hoarding and Squalor is on the increase. It is estimated that there may be as many as 600,000 Australians living in clutter or severe domestic Squalor. This equates to 2.6% of the population. For the most part, workers stumble across these situations when assisting consumers with other issues, and struggle to understand how to work with and support consumers in this area.

This training will equip workers to understand Hoarding Disorder (HD) and Severe Domestic Squalor (SDS) by examining the psychology of clutter and the beliefs that people have about their possessions. The group will then also look at the DSM5 definition of these diagnoses. This theoretical basis will be expanded on by working with intervention models, self-assessment and questionnaires, and effective tools and strategies to use.

In this course we will:

• Unpack the psychology of HD and SDS and beliefs about possessions
• Look at the diagnosis of HD and SDS as described in the DSM-5
• Explore which interventions work and which are less effective
• Outline intervention models
• Explore the use of self-assessment and questionnaires

Who should attend?

Frontline workers, case workers, mental health workers, family workers