Exploration of Culture in Relation to Hoarding Disorder: What are the lived experiences of individuals that suffer from HD, and hoarding-related symptoms, between three of the largest racial demographics in the UK; Black, White and South Asian?

This portfolio focuses on the significance of culture pertaining to Hoarding Disorder (HD) and other aspects of social structures that impact Mental Health (MH). The research study is titled ‘Exploration of culture in relation to HD’ given the limited research into this field with regards to cultural impact/influence. Twelve participants were surveyed and interviewed for IPA analysis, with four participants categorised to one of the three assigned racial-cultural cohorts to explore the following: What are the lived experiences of individuals that suffer from HD, and hoarding related symptoms, between three of the largest racial demographics in the UK; Black, White and South Asian (SA)? Contrary to the current assertion by HD services, whereby there are no distinctions pertaining to racial-cultural backgrounds, findings from each participants analysis within this study exhibit several nuances and variations between each racial cohort of how HD is understood, managed and experienced; citing a strong basis for further research within the field of counselling psychology (CoP)