Group cognitive–behavioural treatment with long‐term follow‐up and targeting self‐identity for hoarding disorder: An open trial

BACKGROUND: Group cognitive-behavioural therapy (G-CBT) for hoarding disorder (HD) may be an intervention of choice, considering its efficacy, low costs, and impact on comorbid anxiety and depression. But although G-CBT and modifications of G-CBT have been applied, none has assessed G-CBT efficacy at follow-up. In the current open-label pilot study, we tested the efficacy of G-CBT at posttreatment and 6-month follow-up and whether the inclusion of targeted reasoning and self-identity components added to G-CBT efficacy. METHODS: Participants (n = 16) with the HD according to the DSM-5 criteria without major comorbid conditions and not requiring immediate medical intervention were retained. The intervention included a 20-week G-CBT with the inclusion of modules on reasoning and self-identity. RESULTS: Very large/large effect sizes, depending on the outcome measure, were observed at posttreatment. Also, HD severity decreased from posttreatment to 6-month follow-up. All participants showed reliable change from pretreatment to follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The results emphasize the efficacy of G-CBT with additional targeted reasoning and self-components.