A New Psychotherapy Approach Offers Hope for Treating Hoarding Disorder

For many, hoarding is a deep, dark secret. But researchers are still unraveling the disorder’s mysteries — and coming up with new treatments.

By Kristen Farrah
Jun 3, 2020 3:51 PM
hoarder illustration - shutterstock
(Credit: light_s/Shutterstock)

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Rachel Kramer Bussel makes a living writing about sex. While she reveals what many people assume to be some of her most private thoughts, Bussel buried her darkest secret between the walls of her New York apartment. 

A secret that kept all but two people out of the apartment for years. When her then-boyfriend flew in from Los Angeles, Bussel made him rent a hotel room nearby. 

Later, she commuted nearly two hours to her current boyfriend’s home for the first year of their relationship. They moved into a new house together after that first year without him ever visiting her place. Although he never stepped foot inside her apartment, he knew what she had been hiding.   

Bussel is a hoarder. 

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