The Lived Experience of Family Members of Persons Who Compulsively Hoard: A Qualitative Study

The current study took an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis approach to investigate the lived experiences of 12 family members of persons who hoard to better understand family members' cognitions, emotions, perceptions, experiences, and responses in their interactions with their loved ones who hoard. Five overarching themes for the participants' experiences of having a person who hoards in the family emerged: negative feelings toward the persons who hoard; lack of understanding of hoarding behavior; experiences of loss; internal barriers to seeking support; and internal conflicts. Clinical implications and recommendations for future research are discussed, including a proposed application of an ambiguous loss framework for understanding and working with the experiences of family members of persons who hoard.