Fugen Neziroglu and the Bio-Behavioral Institute

Dr. Fugen Neziroglu and colleagues at her Bio-Behavioral Institute in Great Neck, NY, USA wrote Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding: Why You Save and How You Can Stop in 2004. Her book is tremendous potential self-help for people who suspect they have, or know they have, hoarding disorder. She offers step-by-step, carefully designed, vigorously tested, achievable exercises for her readers to guide them from initial self-assessment through to maintenance of cleared spaces. The book could benefit from being updated as a new edition: for example, the DSM-5, (a reference work used by clinicians to standardize diagnoses of mental challenges) which had not been released in 2004, classifies hoarding disorder in a newer light than referred to in 2004. And I admit some of her language made me uncomfortable: Dr. Neziroglu refers to “hoarders” and “clean” spaces. I prefer “people with hoarding disorder” and “cleared” spaces. I also believe Dr. Neziroglu missed an opportunity to teach people about other resources available to them, such as Professional Organizers and ADD/ADHD coaches. But in fairness, she may have written this book with an assumption that her readers might find it difficult to get extended help for whatever combination of emotional, physical and/or financial causes.