Hoarding is getting a new definition in the “bible” of psychiatry and experts say it may bring much-needed help to the millions of Americans dealing with the disorder.
The psychological condition made famous by reality television has long been considered a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
But the latest edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will completely separate the two, NBC News reported.
“Hoarding disorder” will be defined as “persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value.”
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Randy Frost, a Smith College professor of psychology who studies hoarding issues, said the new diagnosis will ease people’s “access to treatment.”
“Right now, there are very few clinicians who know how to treat it,” Frost told NBC. “Once it shows up in DSM, there will be much more pressure on clinicians to train in how to treat this problem.”
Hoarding doesn’t just mean a home filled with junk.
The APA says those with the condition – and their families – suffer negative social, emotional and physical effects to the point where there is a disruption of normal life.
Some 4 million people in the U.S. are hoarders, David Kutz, an Albuquerque clinical psychologist who specializes in the condition and OCD, told NBC.
Frost maintains that those statistics may be even higher, with 15 million people suffering from the disorder – “a whopping number,” he said.
Frost added that while treatment for hoarding may improve, it will be a long time before the disorder disappears – if at all.
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“We don’t know yet whether there are medications that might be useful for this,” he said. “But that’s one of the things that will happen now that it’s in the DSM. There will be an interest in researching this.”
The new definition will go into effect in May 2013, when the DSM-5 is officially published.
Other changes in the DSM-V include the elimination of Asperger’s syndrome and a new entry for “disruptive mood dysregulation disorder,” which is characterized by abnormally severe and repeated temper tantrums.
Asperger’s will now fall under autism spectrum disorder, a move the APA said will “help more accurately and consistently diagnose children with autism.”
The changes are significant as the manual shapes to what degree insurance companies will cover a treatment. It also guides how schools develop special education programs.
Dr. Mark Olfson, a Columbia University psychiatry professor who did not have a hand in the manual’s revision, told CBS that the DSM-5 will determine “who will receive what treatment.”
“Even seemingly subtle changes to the criteria can have substantial effects on patterns of care,” he added.
