Comments on: “Hoarders” Second Season Premieres Nov. 30

By: Linda

Linda — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 11:33:39 +0000

I used to work on Clean House–the execs wanted us to do homes of hoarders but the original cast refused. The yard sale was always the point of the episode, and then the makeover.

By: E. A. Wahrburg, MSW, LCSW (NC, NY)

E. A. Wahrburg, MSW, LCSW (NC, NY) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:48:29 +0000

I haven’t seen Hoarders to date, but this article and the video have spurred my interest to do so.
I haven’t been seeing more hoarding professionally. I have seen it and heard about it personally.
My impression is that it’s a compulsive behavior more prevalent in senior populations. Clearly, it can be a very debilitating problem. It impairs a person’s ability to move freely and safely around one’s house. It probably keeps people away who would otherwise visit thereby closing off potential social support for the hoarder. It is representative of an unhealthy way of thinking. Some examples might be, “I’m scared to let go of my past” and What if I need this item sometime in the future?” Compulsive hoarding is definitely a detriment to physical and emotional health. Almost certainly it would have to be therapeutically approched thru home visits. The underlying anxiey of “letting go of the past” needs to be addressed. It’s a complex problem, the prevalence of which may be underestimated because of the relative infrequency of therapeutic visits to the home.

E. A. Wahrburg, MSW, LCSW (NC, NY)

By: Katy

Katy — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:58:52 +0000

I just started a job where I have been warned I will have some clients who are hoarders. So I watched the show to get an idea of what I will be up against and I have to agree with Michael S. — It is a DEPRESSING show. With “Clean House” you get the feeling that all the person really needed was someone to come in and give the house a good scrubbing and then they would be able to maintain it. WIth “Hoarders,” you really see the mental illness side of it and are left with the feeling that things don’t really get better for these people and the cycle of hoarding continues.

By: MIchael S.

MIchael S. — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:28:09 +0000

I’ve seen both “Clean House” and “Hoarders.” Clean House is all about ENTERTAINMENT- they often offer some on-target advice/ “street insight” into the family dynamics, but NO ONE on the cast is a mental health professional, and mental health issues are left unmentioned. They focus on two or three rooms, do a quick makeover, sell surplus at a yard sale, (yard sale idea may have been designed a by a psychologist- it lets the hoarder feel their object is moving on to a better life), and move on with a “happy ending.” It’s a show truly about entertainment, with a lot of slapstick humour added by cast antics. I think they screen out the most deplorable homes and sickest clients in order to make a more pleasant viewing experience.
Hoarders is, in my opinion, EXTREMELY DEPRESSING TV- it’s very realistic, and, as is the case with most hoarders I’ve experience in my 10+ years in Child Protective Services, lasting success in home-cleaninging is almost never achieved. They do use mental health professionals for some segments of the show, so the role of mental illness is clearly discussed and addressed. The homes are far beyond the usual clutter found in Clean House- they had one episode where a woman could not throw out food, to the point she was picking out and eating pumpking seeds from a pumpkin that had rottted to mush, and insisted on eating yogurts a year past the expiration date since “it’s not puffy.”
Clean House will do clutter, but they won’t show serious and extremely disturbing situations like Hoarders.

By: donna kuzemczyk

donna kuzemczyk — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:01:31 +0000

Has anyone seen the HGTV shows, “Clean House”? Have never seen “Hoarders” but would be interested if anyone who has seen both could compare and contrast and provide a post.

By: Melony

Melony — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:33:35 +0000

Sadly… I work at CPS and have six children on my caseload whose mother is a hoarder… all six have been detained due to the conditions in the home and it hurts my heart. The children are OBVIOUSLY bonded to their mother and her to them, but it is such a mental block that we work on daily as a team…. *sigh* i’ts difficult.

This is not our first attempt… she has had community services in the home to clean more than once… but after they leave she brings it back into the home… She has and still has counseling for YEARS… along with meds… Removal of children is our LAST resort.

If you have seen that show you see what those homes look like and they are dangerous, especially for the younger children. I have had to sort of research this topic and become a quasi expert in my desire to effect change… we are working on it…. but yes… it is SO sad…