Understanding hoarding: a trauma-informed approach

Hoarding is a form of self-neglect – one of the biggest areas of work in safeguarding adults, prompting the largest number of safeguarding adults reviews. Having a grasp of post trauma and complex trauma provides greater understanding of the difficulties experienced by people classed as “hoarders”, why they may be unwilling to engage and how to improve contact.

Attend this session to:

• Understand why people who hoard may seem able to make decisions about their care and support and what this means for capacity assessment
• Explore executive brain function in relation to capacity assessments
• Discover helpful ways to interact with and support people who hoard to help them relinquish hoarding behaviours

Deborah Barnett, independent consultant on safeguarding adults