A conceptual and empirical review of acceptance and commitment therapy for hoarding

This review provides a conceptual and empirical overview of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) as a treatment for hoarding. ACT uses a functional contextual model to conceptualize hoarding as a narrowed behavioral repertoire caused by psychological inflexibility. ACT for hoarding focuses on fostering psychological flexibility to expand the behavioral repertoire in ways that align with values, and is tailored to address common clinical issues in hoarding such as problems in insight and motivation, relational difficulties, and executive dysfunction. Initial evidence from three clinical trials suggests ACT for hoarding is efficacious, but more research is needed.