Here’s some of the most common questions we get asked.

• Question - How long are the home visits for?

Answer - usually 1 hour, especially for the first few sessions. This is because we provide therapeutic support to understand more about you and what you would like to achieve. We are like psychologists, and it can be anxiety provoking having a stranger in your home. Sometimes we do increase the sessions length to 2 hours, but that’s only when you are ready. And it’s never a 3 or 4 hour session - no one can work for that long and keep making sense - that includes us too!

• Question - Mr/Ms/Mrs X is in hospital, can you come and do a clean up before they get discharged?

Answer - I usually get asked this question if the person is older. And my answer is always, does the person in hospital agree to this? If not, organising removal without consent is unlawful, but doing it “for their own good”. I completely 100% understand that loved ones living in a hoarded home can be risky, and increase the risk of falls and fire, however unless they have been tested and deemed not to have the capacity to make decisions about where and how they live, then it’s an abuse of people’s rights. If the person agrees, then the answer is yes.

• Question - Do you arrive with a truck and a crew of people, just like those TV shows?

Answer - Never. We provide therapy and practical assistance, we are not a cleaning or removal service. Whilst shows like Space Invaders seems amazing in the “quick” results, it’s not ethical, empowering or sustainable.

Question - Does your car have branding on it?

Answer - No, and we will never disclose who we are to nosy neighbours, support workers, carers or anyone unless you provide consent.

• Question - can you work with my loved one?

Answer - maybe, only if they agree. Quite often family members friends have been trying to help someone they know, often with little/no success. Hoarding is a mental illness, and needs a professional therapist to assist.

• Question - can I have free tickets to your next show/can I book you for a party/can you sing this song I wrote?

Answer - Back in 2013, I asked a colleague (in a previous role) for ideas about what to call my business. Tom wrote music as well as being a family therapist. I didn’t want some awful degrading name, and so Tom suggested “Crowded House”. I thought it was perfect, easy to remember and non-judgemental. To this day, i still get people saying “great business name”, I think so too!

p.s. I did used to sing in a choir though.