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The Requirements of the certificate are:

• Be a current ICD Subscriber 
• Have received CD Specialist Certificate 
• Have received the Certificate of Study in Basic Hoarding Issues
• Complete required readings:
  
  • Murphy, T. W. (2009). Life in rewind: The story of a young courageous man who persevered over OCD and the Harvard doctor who broke all the rules to help him, by Terry Weible Murphy, 2009. Memoir of Dr. Michael Jenike and his patient Edward Zine. Excellent descriptions of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) rituals and their manifestation as hoarding. Helpful to the professional organizer in understanding the thought processes of OCD, which can sometimes lead to hoarding behaviors, and the strength of OCD’s hold on the client.
  • Overcoming compulsive hoarding, by Fugen Neziroglu, Jerome Bubrick and Jose Yaryura-Tobias, 2004. A book for people who hoard and their families which provides background on the phenomenon of hoarding and gives direction on how to address it, both as self-help and as family intervention. Helpful to professional organizers developing a general understanding of hoarding or a plan for assisting a specific client.
  • Compulsive hoarding and acquiring workbook, by Gail Steketee & Randy O. Frost, 2007. A self-help workbook for people who hoard. Useful for professional organizers to help clients articulate their specific challenges and to walk them through the change process. (Note: A companion guide was also published for therapists who provide clinical treatment for hoarding; see the Recommended Further Reading list.)
  • Buried in treasures: Help for compulsive acquiring, saving, and hoarding, by David F. Tolin, Randy O. Frost, & Gail Steketee, 2007. Introduction to the phenomenon of hoarding for people who hoard and their families. Helpful to professional organizers in conceptualizing the problem of hoarding and ways to address it.
  • Digging out: Helping your loved one manage clutter, hoarding, and compulsive acquiring by Michael A. Tompkins, & Tamara L. Hartl, 2009. 
Introduction to the concept of harm reduction—the improvement and not necessarily elimination of a problem behavior—as it applies to hoarding. Helpful when working with the hoarding client’s family and with clients who are unable or unwilling to fully dismantle their hoard.
    Read from Hoarding Specialist Annotated Bibliography of Recommended Further Reading as appropriate to your personal learning objectives. Download the PDF file
    
• Attend the required teleclass: Advanced Hoarding
• Attend five additional hoarding teleclasses. None of these classes can have been used in your application for the Level I Certificate of Study in Hoarding Issues.
• Pass the Hoarding Exam within the last three years. Click here for waiver information. The Hoarding Exam is composed of 20 multiple-choice questions, based on above readings and general CD knowledge. - Click here to see our Exam Page.
• Complete an application for the Hoarding Specialist Certificate either online or mail with fees to ICD. The fee of $102.00 includes $15.00 nonrefundable application fee.