NCT03734705

Imaginal Exposure for Hoarding Disorder

Efficacy and Feasibility of Intensive Imaginal Exposure for Hoarding Disorder

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 32 (actual)
• Sponsor: Stanford University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The present study will test a potential new treatment strategy, imaginal exposure, for hoarding disorder. Although cognitive behavioral therapy often reduces hoarding, some people do not want to start, or cannot handle, that option. To help such individuals, the present study will provide imaginal exposure therapy to people with hoarding disorder, wherein they imagine discarding possessions as a way of becoming acclimated to the idea. We predict that imaginal exposure will improve hoarding symptoms as well as two psychological experiences linked to the condition: intolerance of uncertainty and emotional avoidance.

Detailed description

Hoarding disorder is a common mental illness characterized by difficulty parting with possessions and by clutter that makes living spaces unusable. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for hoarding disorder, but new approaches are needed to engage those who are reluctant to start or cannot tolerate CBT. Both intolerance of uncertainty and emotional avoidance are linked to hoarding disorder and may interfere with treatment engagement. Imaginal exposure, a therapeutic technique which involves repeatedly imagining feared scenarios and experiencing the evoked emotions, effectively targets both intolerance of uncertainty and emotional avoidance. The present study is the first to test whether imagining discarding possessions can improve hoarding symptoms more than does a control exercise. We hypothesize that compared to a control exercise, imaginal exposure will improve hoarding symptoms, intolerance of uncertainty and emotional avoidance.

Conditions

• Hoarding Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Imaginal Exposure Writing	Imaginal exposure is a psychotherapy strategy that has been studied and shown to be helpful in the improvement of symptoms (e.g., anxiety, worry) for other psychiatric conditions, including excessive worry and obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms.
OTHER	Neutral Writing	Used in prior research as a control condition for imaginal exposure. Neutral writing will involve writing about what one would do on a day off work or school.

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-01-13
• Primary completion: 2021-01-27
• Completion: 2021-01-27
• First posted: 2018-11-08
• Last updated: 2025-05-29
• Results posted: 2025-05-29

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States