Dean and Professor Gail Steketee Quoted in Harvard Women’s Health Watch

Boston University School of Social Work Dean and Professor Gail Steketee, PhD, was interviewed for a Harvard Women’s Health Watch article by Stephanie Watson titled “Treatment can Break the Grip of Hoarding Disorder.”

In the article, Steketee discusses the various reasons people hoard, including sentimental attachment. “There is some specific association to an object, or an object is seen to represent a person’s identity in some important way,” Steketee told Watson.

Regardless of the reasoning, experts recommend cognitive behavioral therapy to help the person understand the reason for their hoarding. Steketee suggests finding a therapist who is specifically trained in hoarding. Also, books such as “Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding,” which Steketee co-authored, can also help hoarders and their families find a solution.

Click here to read the full article.