Purpose
In the 10 years since the International Cluttering Association (ICA) was created, this organization has been growing in the scope of its initiatives, and in the variety of resources it makes available for people with cluttering (PWC). However, the awareness of this disorder and of the methods for its intervention remain limited in countries around the world. A celebration of the multinational and multicultural engagements of the ICA's Committee of the International Representatives is a common thread running through all the articles in this forum. The first article is a joint effort among international representatives from five continents and 15 countries, exploring various themes related to cluttering, such as awareness, research, professional preparation, intervention, and self-help groups. The second article, by Elizabeth Gosselin and David Ward, investigates attention performance in PWC. In the third article, Yvonne van Zaalen and Isabella Reichel explain how audiovisual feedback training can improve the monitoring skills of PWC, with both quantitative and qualitative benefits in cognitive, emotional, and social domains of communication. In the final article, Hilda Sønsterud examines whether the working alliance between the client and clinician may predict a successful cluttering therapy outcome.
Conclusions
Authors of this forum exchanged their expertise, creativity, and passion with the goal of solving the mystery of the disconcerting cluttering disorder with the hope that all PWC around the globe will have access to the most effective evidence-based treatments leading to blissful and successful communication.
Participatory action research with self-help groups: An alternative paradigm for inquiry and action
