Since the “Hoarders” series started airing on A & E TV, many people have been wondering what kind of training you need to work with compulsive hoarders.
If you’ve been watching the shows, you’ve seen both professional organizers and different types of mental health professionals working with the individuals featured in the programs.
Some of the professional organizers you’ve seen, like me, are certified (I have a CPO-CD®). Getting certified requires hours of training and experience. There are a few types of credentialing available but the two most well known and respected are:
1 – The Certified Professional Organizer (CPO®) certification is offered through the Board of Certification of Professional Organizers (BCPO).
To become a CPO®, you need to have a certain amount of professional experience and education, and pass a qualifying exam.
2 –The Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization (CPO-CD®) certification is offered through the National Study Group in Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD).
To become a CPO-CD®, you have to complete an 18-month training program that focuses specifically on working with chronically disorganized clients, and then pass an exam to earn this designation.
Why two certifications?
Professional organizers work with many different types of people on many different kinds of projects. Naturally, people live with different levels of disorganization.
Becoming a Certified Professional Organizer (CPO®) means you’ve had experience working with many different types of clients, but it does NOT necessarily mean you’ve had experience working with clients who are chronically disorganized or suffer from compulsive hoarding.
Becoming a Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization (CPO-CD®), on the other hand, means you’ve had a great deal of training and experience working with the chronically disorganized, as well as enough education to have a basic understanding of hoarding and what it takes to help them. If you then choose to specialize in working with hoarders, like I have, you can then get more training and education to help them.
Do you need to be certified to work with hoarders?
There are plenty of professional organizers who are not certified; some are extremely experienced, others are not. Certification is voluntary in this industry.
While you don’t have to be certified to do this work, it’s strongly recommended that you have a lot of training and experience working with this particular group in order to be truly helpful. If you’re not qualified, you risk doing more harm than good, and you would be wasting the client’s time, energy and money.
To learn more about professional organizing and the types of work we do, visit the National Association of Professional Organizers website, www.napo.net.
To learn more about chronic disorganization, what it is, get fact sheets, publications, and referrals to professionals in your area, visit the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization’s website, www.nsgcd.org.
Comments
This is really great
This is really great information. I think that any professional organizer who doesn't have specialized training to work with hoarders should get to know someone who does, if at all possible, so that if they find themselves in that situation, they're able to refer the client to someone qualified and not just give it a whirl, which can be detrimental to their business as well as the client.
Janet
I agree with your comments and I think it's a good opportunity for Professional Organizers who want to work with hoarders to ask an experienced hoarding-organizer if they could assist them on the job for a few hours. It would be an excellent way to try it out without committing to a project and then realizing it's too much.
Unhoarding is a very long and expensive process; many hands make the job much faster, less expensive and more enjoyable.
Geralin
clarity and explanations are excellent!
Thank you Geralin for taking the time and posting this important information. There are many misconceptions about PO certification, and this makes it truly clear with great simple explanations for the certifications and their importance.
Ellen
Ellen,
Thank you for commenting; hopefully, many more conversations about credentials and qualifications are going to start in various communities around the world.
The topic of hoarding is a catalyst for a lot of conversations and actions.
I think a lot of people outside the industry are confused about their options.
Geralin
certification
How does a person become certified?
qualified to work with CD and/or hoarding clients
I totally agree that a professional organizer that is not specifically trained to work with hoarding, CD, ADHD, TBI, etc. clients can do more harm that good. This is in two ways: the client may become so discouraged that they may never seek additional help and second, it reflects poorly on the organizing industry as a whole.
To add some information to Geralin's comments about certification, the NSGCD website states the following differences between the CPO and CPO-CD programs:
"NSGCD's certification is based on its own highly structured, intensive educational programs specific to our client work, with follow-up exams and assignments to prove earned proficiency for certification designation. BCPO offers a certification exam based on proof of independent education and prior organizing experience; both are needed in order to qualify to take the exam. The certifications are different in approach and structure, and both are available to professional organizers depending on their own needs, purpose and educational/professional focus."
Here is additional information about the NSGCD's CPO-CD program:
"A Level III Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization (CPO-CD ® ) (Level III) is a professional organizer who has been educated in depth on the issues of chronic disorganization. The CPO-CD student spends 17-20 months of intensive time studying and applying this learning in practical application with current clients. The purpose of the NSGCD CPO-CD ® program is to develop a Professional Organizers skills and knowledge by utilizing a coaching style relationship. This program allows the intermediate and advanced Professional Organizer an environment and forum to discuss client issues, problems and challenges. Participation in the CPO-CD ® program develops honesty, trust and improves an organizer's communication skills. The CPO-CD ® program is specifically geared to improve the quality of service, techniques and knowledge a Professional Organizer provides to their CD clients."