The Big Four Bridge - Louisville, KY
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Hoarding Treatment & Support Group in Louisville
Deciding what to keep, what to let go of, and where to begin can become overwhelming when possessions carry strong feelings, memories, or possibilities.
The Hoarding Treatment & Support Group at River City OCD Clinic provides structured discussion and practical support for people working toward change.
Facilitated by Sara Sutphin, LPP, this monthly, in-person therapy group helps participants recognize avoidance, approach difficult decisions, and connect recovery work with the life they want to build.
Practical Support for Hoarding Recovery
Hoarding difficulties can affect how you use your home, spend your time, and connect with other people. Emotional attachment, indecision, shame, and fear of making the wrong choice can make even a small task feel complicated.
This group offers a place to discuss those challenges and identify manageable steps to practice between meetings.
Our approach is ACT-informed, emphasizing psychological flexibility, willingness to experience discomfort, and actions guided by personal values. Discussions connect these principles with decisions about possessions, acquiring, avoidance, and everyday functioning.
The aim is to help you make room for activities and relationships that matter while developing more workable ways of responding to possessions and the feelings connected to them.
Group Meeting Details
Facilitator: Sara Sutphin, LPP
When: Third Monday of each month
Time: 6:00–7:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Fee: $45 per meeting
Format: In-person, clinician-facilitated therapy group
Location: River City OCD Clinic, 4010 Dupont Circle, Suite 600, Louisville, KY 40207
Participation: A brief screening helps determine whether the group fits your current needs and goals.
The group is best suited to people actively working on hoarding difficulties through treatment and recovery practice.
Contact us to discuss your current support and whether this group would be a useful addition.
What We Work On
Group discussions connect hoarding recovery with practical decisions and everyday challenges.
Topics may include:
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Making decisions about keeping and discarding possessions
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Understanding emotional attachment to items
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Reducing excessive acquiring
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Recognizing avoidance, procrastination, and repeated postponement
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Approaching sorting and organizing tasks
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Making room for uncertainty, regret, and other uncomfortable feelings
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Responding to shame and self-criticism
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Setting goals connected to how you want to use your living spaces
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Following through on manageable steps between meetings
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Returning to useful practices after setbacks
Progress may include using a table for meals again, making a room more accessible, or choosing not to bring home something you don’t need.
Participants work toward purposeful, manageable steps that may involve discomfort, with attention to functioning and safety.
What Meetings Are Like
Meetings center on facilitated discussion, reflection, and applying skills to real situations.
Participants can discuss obstacles, consider different perspectives, and identify a practical next step. Hearing from others can help reduce isolation and offer ideas for approaching familiar challenges.
Support includes encouragement and accountability without shame. You can acknowledge that a decision feels difficult while still considering what action would serve you.
The group does not conduct forced clean-outs or make decisions about your possessions for you. The emphasis is on developing skills you can continue using outside the meeting.
You don’t need to arrive with an impressive before-and-after photo. A specific example of where you got stuck gives us something useful to work with.
Who Is This Group For?
The group may be a useful fit if you:
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Have significant difficulty discarding possessions
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Acquire more items than your space or daily life can comfortably accommodate
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Avoid decisions about belongings because they feel overwhelming
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Find that clutter interferes with using parts of your home
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Are actively working on hoarding difficulties and want additional structure and support
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Want to connect recovery goals with relationships, activities, and daily functioning
A formal diagnosis is not necessarily required. Screening helps clarify your concerns, current treatment, and whether the group offers an appropriate level of support.
The group complements ongoing treatment and recovery work. If you need more individualized help, we can discuss individual psychotherapy or other appropriate options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a therapy group?
Yes. This is a clinician-facilitated therapy group focused on hoarding-related difficulties, practical skills, and recovery support. It is led by Sara Sutphin, LPP.
Do I need a formal diagnosis of hoarding disorder?
Not necessarily. The group is intended for people experiencing significant difficulty with discarding, acquiring, clutter, or related interference in daily life.
A brief screening will help determine whether the group fits your needs.
Do I need to be in individual therapy?
The group is best suited to people actively working on hoarding difficulties through treatment and recovery practice.
During screening, we’ll discuss your current care and whether the group would provide appropriate additional support. Contact us if you’re unsure whether your situation fits.
Will I be pressured to discard possessions?
The group does not use forced clean-outs, shame, or pressure to make decisions for you.
It does encourage meaningful behavior change, which can involve practicing difficult decisions and experiencing discomfort. We focus on manageable actions connected to your goals, functioning, and safety.
Is hoarding disorder the same as OCD?
No. Hoarding disorder is a separate diagnosis within the obsessive-compulsive and related disorders category.
The conditions can overlap, but difficulties with possessions are not automatically OCD, and hoarding treatment needs to address the specific patterns involved.
How do I join?
Use our Contact page and mention the Hoarding Treatment & Support Group.
We’ll discuss current availability and arrange a brief screening to learn about your concerns, treatment experience, and goals.