2025 Virtual Mini-Conference on Hoarding Behavior
MHASF is excited to host a no-cost Virtual Mini-Conference on Hoarding Behavior. The event is for individuals who self-identify as having hoarding behavior and/or their family and friends. Presentations will cover education, resources, and professional and peer support.
About the Conference
June 12-13, 2025
12:30 PM - 5:30 PM
The 2025 Virtual Mini-Conference on Hoarding Behavior unites experts and peers in the field of Hoarding Disorder (HD) to build community, inspire advocacy, and offer effective strategies to handle everyday challenges. This conference is for individuals with lived experience, their family members, mental health professionals, researchers, clinicians, and any other parties interested.
This event is hosted by the Hoarding Behavior Program at The Mental Health Association of San Francisco and funded by the City of San Francisco’s Department of Disability and Aging Services.
Hoarding Presentations
Reimagining Spaces: Hoarding Behaviors and Storage Use
Elizabeth Barr, Mental Health Association of San Francisco Peer Counselor
This presentation explores the complex relationship between hoarding behavior and the growing dependence on both in-home and external storage solutions. We'll examine the long-term financial impact of renting storage lockers and the hidden costs of using living spaces for storage instead of their intended purposes. We will offer practical tools and techniques to reduce reliance on extra storage. The session includes an interactive exercise designed to spark insight and motivation for letting go—whether it's clearing out a storage unit or reclaiming a bedroom closet.
Autonomy and Hoarding: A Key to Lasting Change
Rachel Seavey, Collector Care
Hoarding disorder is not just about clutter—it's about the emotional and cognitive challenges that lead to it. My presentation, "Autonomy and Hoarding: A Key to Lasting Change," explores how empowering individuals to take control of their own recovery is the most effective way to create sustainable change. By emphasizing personal agency, we can reduce resistance, foster motivation, and ensure that hoarding recovery is a self-directed, lasting journey. We'll delve into the importance of autonomy, the harmful effects of forced cleanouts, and effective strategies that support individuals in their recovery process. Through these insights, we can help those struggling with hoarding feel in control and build meaningful, long-term change in their lives.
Whose Problem Is It Anyway?
Ceci Garrett and Tammi Moses, Lightening the Load Counseling PLLC
The impact of hoarding behaviors on family and friends is a real concern. Many family members take on tasks and change their own behaviors to avoid upsetting the person who hoards (PWH). Learn how two women with personal and professional experiences with hoarding identified the ways they made their loved one's hoarding issue their own by changing their behaviors and the ways they started to shift responsibility back to their loved one.
Packing for Travel: A Guide for People with Hoarding Behaviors
Susie DuBois, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Packing for travel can be a remarkably difficult task for many people with hoarding behaviors. Do you struggle with taking too much with you on trips? Are you often up all night before you travel? Do you feel overwhelmed and anxious when you think about packing? Even though packing seems like it should be easy, there are many reasons why it is actually a very complicated undertaking, especially if you have clutter or disorganization. In this presentation, we will explore several strategies and tools to address these packing challenges so that your next travel experience includes taking off with a well-packed and manageable suitcase, feeling rested and prepared for your adventure ahead.
Hey, There Are These People Called Professional Organizers
Lauren Williams, Casual Unclutering LLC
Many people still don't know about the critical help that Professional Organizers can offer to encourage them in their decluttering efforts. Professional Organizers are trained to help people learn about the obstacles which might hurt their chances of letting go of stuff and guide them in figuring out where to keep and how to store their possessions. Most of us aren't therapists, but we can actively support the work you do with a therapist. "Stuff" management, time and stress management, and space planning are all involved.
ADHD or Hoarding Disorder or Both: Strategies to Manage Clutter and Disorganization
Michael Tompkins, San Francisco Center for Cognitive Therapy
Both Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Hoarding Disorder (HD) result in cluttered and disorganized living spaces. Furthermore, even if people with HD do not meet clinical criteria for co-occurring ADHD, they often have executive function weaknesses that contribute to disorganized and cluttered living spaces. In this training, attendees will learn the ADHD-related vs. HD-related factors that contribute to cluttered and disorganized living spaces and cognitive and behavioral strategies to manage these factors.
