Hoarders

Overview

Each 60-minute episode profiles one or two interventions. During most of the first season, the hoarder worked with either a psychiatrist/psychologist, a professional organizer, or an "extreme cleaning specialist," each of whom specialized in some aspect involving the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorders, anxiety disorders, and/or hoarding. A crew of professional cleaners (usually a local franchise of the series' major corporate sponsor) performed actual cleanups. Two episodes in the first season featured a cleanup with both a psychologist and an organizer: Jill (episode "Jennifer and Ron/Jill") and Patty (episode "Patty/Bill"); from season two onward, all Hoarders were given a psychologist and an organizer. The final episode of the first season, "Paul/Missy and Alex" featured professional organizer, Geralin Thomas, CPO-CD working with Missy, while a child psychologist, Dr. David Dia, worked with Missy's seven-year-old son Alex. Beginning in the second season, each hoarder had a psychologist-plus-organizer/cleaning specialist team assisting them in their cleanup. The psychologist-plus-organizer/cleaning specialist combination leads a group of cleaning professionals, family, friends, and relatives of the hoarder in conducting a two- to three-day decluttering session. The cleanups aim both to teach the hoarder new ways of thinking and patterns of behavior and to make the home a liveable and usable space. In most instances a crisis prompts the intervention, such as the threat of eviction or the removal of minor children from the home.

Many times, cleanups are postponed due to outstanding circumstances. In the season 5 episode, "Mary/Annie", crew members placed a 911 call, after discovering Mary unresponsive in her home. She was taken to a local hospital, and the cleanup resumed the following afternoon after she was released following respiratory problems. In another episode, the camera and cleanup crew were forced to evacuate a structurally unstable home following the 5.8 magnitude 2011 Virginia Earthquake. Twice in the series, a hoarder has kicked the crew off their property and refused further help. Lisa from season four aborted the cleanup after the first day, when her pets escaped in the process. Linda, from season nine, walked away six times, before allowing the crew to organize part of her barn; she later told them to leave and not come back.

At the end of each episode, on-screen text indicates the short-term outcome of the cleanup effort, including the subjects' decisions on whether to seek further assistance from organizers and/or therapists. The show provides six months of aftercare funds to pay these professionals and, occasionally, to carry out vital repairs to the home.

Each of the "Where Are They Now?" episodes on Lifetime revisits two or more hoarders, showing clips from their original appearances followed by newer footage detailing the progress they have made since they were featured on the show.

On-air personalities

There have been a number of therapists and professional organizers who have contributed to the show, reoccurring cast members are as follows:

Therapists

Organizers

Hoarding disorder

With the release of DSM-5 in 2013, hoarding was classified as a separate disorder. During show's original run, hoarding behaviors were considered symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Hoarding does show links to obsessive and compulsive behaviors; however, it also shows connections to Major Depressive Disorder as well as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Hoarding could have simply remained a symptom and been included under multiple disorders. However, treating the comorbid disorders in a patient often does not eliminate hoarding behaviors. Another significant factor in the disorder’s reclassification was the discovery that more people could be diagnosed with hoarding behaviors than could be diagnosed with OCD. This showed that hoarding could not be a subtype of OCD. Rather, it had to be a separate illness with similarities (the fear of letting go being the obsession, and the hoarding of unneeded items as the compulsion). These similarities are recognized in the DSM-5, as hoarding is classified under the heading of “Obsessive Compulsive Related Disorders.” Other disorders in this category include Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Trichotillomania, and Excoriation. These disorders share common features “such as obsessive preoccupation and repetitive behaviors.”

The role of documentary shows like Hoarders in the change of classification is unclear. However, some believe the rise in awareness caused by them was a significant contributing factor. When hoarding became a buzzword, it “commanded a significant amount of professional…attention”. Studies that may have been prompted by this could have aided in revealing the disorder as the unique and complex illness it truly is.

Reception

At the time of its premiere, Hoarders was the most-watched series premiere in A&E network history among adults aged 18–49 and tied for the most ever in the adults aged 25–54 demographic. The premiere was watched by 2.5 million viewers: 1.8 million adults aged 18–49. In 2011, Hoarders won a Critics Choice Award, in a tie with The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, for best reality series.