Behind the Closed Door: The Mental Stress of Physical Stuff

by Katie Tracy

Overview

Mental Health Professionals help their clients through common emotional challenges. Often not discussed and left untreated is how emotional challenges show up in clients' physical spaces through overstuffed closets, cluttered homes, and stressed families. If you're a therapist, counselor, or coach, Behind the Closed Door encourages you to explore the connection between the mental state and the physical space, so your clients can experience positive and lasting change in both.

In this thought-provoking book, Katie Tracy, CPO^® explores the cyclical relationship between emotions and clutter and how the appearance and function of a home influences thoughts, feelings, and emotions every day.

· Experience the unique perspective of a Certified Professional Organizer^® who works directly with clients in their homes

· Learn why "stuff" is a challenge for clients and how clutter at home relates to mental health and therapy

· Discover the role that therapy plays in helping clients tackle their physical stuff, and learn strategies that can be incorporated into your therapy practice

"Ms. Tracy sets the stage for mental health professionals to understand how physical space filled with clutter can influence the client's emotional experiences."

--Dr. Joseph R Ferrari, Vincent dePaul professor of psychology, DePaul University

"In Behind the Closed Door, professional organizer Katie Tracy weaves together scientific research and her rich experience working with clients to illuminate the cyclical relationship between our emotions and the stuff that clutters our physical spaces."

-Catherine Roster, Ph.D.

Professor, University of New Mexico

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781734734089
Publisher:	Simple Spaces
Publication date:	07/23/2020
Pages:	170
Sales rank:	976,047
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.36(d)

Table of Contents

PART 1: OVERLAPPING WORLDS

1: The Client Who Changed Everything

2: Organizing-Therapy's Natural Partner

3: Clutter in Context: What is Clutter?

4: The Work of Professional Organizers

PART 2: THE CONNECTION

5: The Mental/Physical Clutter Connection

6: The Psychology of Stuff

PART 3: WHAT CAN BE DONE?

7: Clutter and Related Stress

8: What Clients Don't Tell You: Their Physical Space

9: Introduce a Collaborative Approach

10: Addressing Underlying Emotions

PART 4: COMMON FEELINGS

11: The Emotional Connection

12: "That was my mom's." Feelings of Sentimentality

13: "What if I need that one day?" Feelings of Fear

14: "I don't have time." Feelings of Indecision

15: "I don't know where to start." Feelings of Overwhelm & Defeat

16: Lasting Change Acknowledgements Additional Resources Notes

About the Author