Hoarding Disorder Assessment Tools
Dear Readers -
Hopefully, you were able to attend the ActiveRain Zoom Meet-Up featuring Lauren Williams, CPO, CVPO. Lauren regaled us with great tips for when we encounter Clients who need help with organization.
She explained that there are many levels of professional training to achieve the certification for these skills. Her company is called Casual Uncluttering which is NAPO certified as well as certified for VIRTUAL work sessions. Her first hour walk-through is without charge.
In addition to her specific examples of techniques she uses, she cautioned everyone to avoid loaded words such as "messy" or "cluttered" when beginning conversations about getting a home ready to sell. No point in setting up a negtive environment from the beginning, she cautioned.
When asked about sorting and disposing of items from a deceased spouse, Lauren stressed there is NO TIMELINE for that which she details in her post Grief, Loss and Clutter. She explained that everyone processes grief differently and the person determines his or her own timeline.
Be sure to read other posts of hers such as Shoes, Shoes Everywhere and Not A Pair To Wear; 12 Brilliant Organizing Tips; and, GiveBackBox.
Lawrence "Larry" & Sheila Agranoff. Cell: 631-805-4400 asked a very interesting question which she agreed I could mention. "What if the Client's office is the kitchen table, how do you organize?" Lauren responded that just separating the work area from the eating area would be a way to start while looking for another space in the home - no matter how small - to relocate the office items.
Wonderful presentation and thanks to Kat Palmiotti who invited Lauren Williams, everyone in attendance learned so much!
NEXT WEEK - the Tuesday at 2pm ActiveRain Zoom Meet-Up will be presented by Ben Kinney - the man who rescued ActiveRain from the two (what I call) kidnappings - and saved our AR community! Ben has put his money where his mouth is - he personally pumps cash in monthly to keep AR rebuilding the site and continuing to move ahead. Link available from George Souto to join.
My everlasting gratitude to Dr. Gregory Chasson, a clinician with too many impressive accomplishments to list here, and The Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force for pointing me to several of these hoarding disorder assessment tools which were unfamiliar to me. I'm pleased to say that several of my colleagues and I pointed him to a resource in turn.
Hoarding disorder experts Drs. Gail Steketee and Randy O. Frost first published the Compulsive Hoarding and Acquiring Therapist Guide in 2007. One of the elements of the Guide is the Clutter Image Rating Scale, a series of photos showing several rooms in increasingly cluttered condition. Anyone can use it: a person who suspects s/he has the disorder or anyone attempting to help a person make that decision.
The Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force posts a brilliant interactive version of the Scale which lets you immediately rate your challenge.
Another excellent viewpoint is the HOMES® scale, published in the 2011 The Hoarding Handbook: A Guide for Human Service Professionals, by Dr. Christiana Bratiotis,
The Hoarding Rating Scale developed by Dr. David Tolin and a team provides another lens.
The Institute for Challenging Disorganization Clutter-Hoarding Scale and its Clutter Quality of Life Scale.
Activities of Daily Living for Hoarding is an eye-opening instrument also formatted by Gail Steketee and Randy Frost.
This version of the Savings Inventory - Revised, another powerful Steketee instrument, is interactive, and generously provided by its publisher, Oxford University Press.
The Center for Hoarding and Cluttering, an astonishing resource in many dimensions, designed the Uniform Inspection Checklist "to objectively identify Harm Reduction targets, prioritize reasonable and relevant goals, set a baseline status, and monitor and measure progress throughout the resolution process."
Apple even has a Clutter Image Rating Scale app.
Lauren A. Williams, Certified Professional Organizer
POB 2448
Woodinville, WA 98072-2448
425-947-3976 Lauren@casualuncluttering.com www.casualuncluttering.com
Professional organizing services. Licensed, bonded and insured in WA.
PAID AFFILIATE OF High Road Organizers – GREAT STUFF FOR CARS!!
PAID AFFILIATE OF Organize-It: your storage and organization resource."
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