New Survey: From Dr. Tolin. Anxiety Disorders Center. The Institute of Living

My colleagues and I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to participate in an exciting new research study on compulsive hoarding. We hope this internet-based study will help improve our understanding and treatment of compulsive hoarding.

Who can participate?
We would like to invite everyone whose life has been affected by hoarding. If you are a person who suffers from compulsive hoarding, or if you have a family member or friend with a hoarding problem, we would like you to participate. If you are a mental health worker or service worker who regularly comes into contact with people who hoard, we'd also like to invite you to participate.

How long will it take?
The questionnaire will take approximately 60 minutes to complete. Of course, individual times may vary due to differences in speed of reading and writing. Because this is on the internet, you can take a break at any time and come back to it. Just be sure not to close the webpage.

Will my answers be anonymous?
Yes. We won't ask you for your name or any other personally identifying information. Our program won't install cookies or other software on your computer. We won't give out any information about your participation to other parties. Therefore, you can rest assured that your responses will be completely private.

How will my participation help?
Right now, scientists and therapists know relatively little about compulsive hoarding. Your participation will go a long way toward helping us understand the scope and impact of this problem. That, in turn, will help us design better research studies and treatments for hoarding.

What will I get in return for my participation?
At the end of the survey, we will invite you to enter a raffle to receive one of 10 autographed copies of the new book Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding (Oxford University Press, 2007). You can also feel good about the fact that you are helping us learn more about hoarding, which in turn will help us develop more effective research and treatment.

How do I participate?Participating is simple. Just go to www.surveymonkey.com/hoarding and answer the questions on the page.

Can I invite my family or friends to participate too?Absolutely. Please feel free to forward this letter to anyone who you think might be interested in helping us learn more about hoarding. In addition, if anyone is reading this letter and has not received a copy of our email Hoarding Newsletter, please send an email to adcresearch@harthosp.org so that we can add you to our mailing list.

If you have any questions about this research, please feel free to contact Diana Harrington at 860-545-7039 or dharrington@harthosp.org.

Thank you in advance for your help and we look forward to learning more about your experiences.

Sincerely,
David F. Tolin, Ph.D.Director, Anxiety Disorders CenterThe Institute of Living