Cognitive Rehabilitation and Exposure-based Class for Compulsive Hoarding

The purpose of this protocol is to investigate the effectiveness of a manualized, 20-week group cognitive rehabilitation (CR) and exposure therapy (ET) course for compulsive hoarding. The overarching aim is to understand whether this course will decrease the core symptoms of hoarding and associated features.

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Key information

Conditions

Hoarding Disorder Anxiety Disorders Behavior Hoarding Mental Disorders Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Age range

18 year–85 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Miami

Coral Gables, Florida, 33146, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Include:

Individuals who exhibit subclinical and clinical levels of hoarding disorder, as determined by the SCID interview conducted at the screening assessment, will be eligible to participate in the study. Individuals may also display clinically relevant symptoms of hoarding as indicated by scores on the Hoarding Rating Scale Interview (HRS-I) and/or on the Saving Inventory-Revised (SIR).
Comorbid mood and anxiety disorders are permitted.
English-speaking
Pregnant women

Exclusion criteria

Adults unable to consent
Individuals who are not yet adults (infants, children, teenagers)
Individuals who are over the age of 85
Individuals with cognitive or physical impairments that would interfere with their participation (e.g., Dementia, uncorrected hearing)
Participants who have current or past psychotic symptoms or current or past alcohol/substance abuse/dependence may also be excluded.
Participants may also be excluded if they are currently in other forms of psychotherapy.
Participants may be excluded if they have had a change in psychotropic medications within three months of the baseline assessment/first class.
Participants may be excluded if hoarding is not their primary diagnosis.
Prisoners

Treatment and study plan

Cognitive Rehabilitation and Exposure-based Class for Compulsive Hoarding

Behavioral

The group sessions consists of 20 classes, each lasting approximately 90 minutes and may consist of some or all of the following:

A group agreement and a confidentiality contract
Homework assignments
Viewing informational videos about hoarding
Behavioral experiments including sorting and discarding exercises
Non-acquisition exposures

This course is based on the Manual Cognitive Rehabilitation and Exposure/Sorting Therapy for Compulsive Hoarding (Ayers et al., 2014).

Primary outcomes

Hoarding Rating Scale Interview

Time frame: 22 weeks

The Hoarding Rating scale has a total score ranging from 0 -40 with the higher score indicating higher symptoms of hoarding.

This will be used to assess whether hoarding symptoms decrease as a result of treatment.
Clinician's Global Impression Improvement and Severity ratings

Time frame: 22 weeks

The CGI has a score range of 0-7 with the higher score indicating more severe symptoms.This will be used to assess whether hoarding symptoms decrease as a result of treatment.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Miami

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2014
Primary completion: 2025
Study completion: 2025
First posted: Dec 3, 2014
Registry last updated: Jul 29, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed