Digging Out is a wonderful book for those who have family members or other loved ones with compulsive hoarding and cluttering problems. It provides a practical, realistic, in-depth, and empathic approach for helping to manage this serious and often debilitating problem using harm-reduction techniques. This book manages that most difficult of combinations -- to provide hope and guidance without minimizing the potential obstacles to success.
Carol A Mathews MD
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Co-Director, Anxiety Disorders Clinic
University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine
Digging Out is a remarkable book. Michael Tompkins and Tamara Hartl walk the reader step by step through the difficult process of letting go of unrealistic expectations, healing old wounds, and helping loved ones get much-needed help for compulsive hoarding. This book is likely to become a "must-read" for family members of people with significant hoarding problems.
David F. Tolin, PhD, ABPP
Director, Anxiety Disorders Center
The Institute of Living
Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Yale University School of Medicine
Undoubtedly, "Digging Out" is one of the best available texts for assisting the families of those suffering from Hoarding and Cluttering declutter and help their loved ones live in a healthy environment. The authors Michael Tompkins and Tamara Hartl provide a systematic approach to understanding the problem of hoarding and cluttering that will equally be useful for other service providers such as Public Health Inspectors involved with code enforcement, Social Workers and Adult Protective Services who work with clients especially in our Single Room Occupancy Hotels and Shelters in San Francisco. I highly recommend the book for all who work with or may come across people struggling with hoarding and cluttering in their respective job functions.
Dr. Johnson Ojo, Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) is Special Programs Manager, who also regulate the hotels and shelters used to house the homeless and GA clients in the City and County of San Francisco, Dept. of Public Health.
This excellent book is a boon to people that hoard, their families, and mental health professionals. It provides a clear method -- "harm reduction" -- that has been proven effective in reducing the dangerous consequences of hoarding, while promoting positive relationships between the hoarder and their loved ones. The authors are to be commended for the benefits offered by Digging Out to the many people who have to cope with this disabling disorder.
Paul R. Munford, PhD
Clinical Psychologist & Center Director
Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center for OCD & Anxiety
"If your loved one has a problem with compulsive saving, this book can help you both save what really counts: yourselves! With equal parts compassion, wisdom, and practicality, Michael Tompkins and Tamara Hartl offer step-by-step instructions for helping family members and friends with hoarding challenges. The authors' passion for their work comes through on every page, and their extensive experience is evident in every nugget of advice they offer."
Jeff Bell
Author, When in Doubt, Make Belief: An OCD-Inspired Approach to Living with Uncertainty
Dr. Tompkins' new book Digging Out, is an excellent, practical, thorough tool for families of people with hoarding and cluttering issues. Digging Out provides readers with clear, thoughtful explanations of this serious issue, the emotional impact from the sufferer's perspective, and teaches specific approaches that families can practice and utilize to work with the family member with a hoarding or cluttering problem, using a compassionate, harm reduction approach. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting concrete tools and skills in dealing with this thorny issue.
Cindy E. Rasmussen, MSW, LCSW
Supervisor, Adult Protective Services
Department of Aging and Adult Services
San Francisco, CA