Christiana Bratiotis’s research while affiliated with University of British Columbia and other places

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Publications (10)


Thematic network of Motive and rescuer worldview
Thematic network of Motive, its sub-themes, and its relation to Canadian-based international dog rescue member’s worldview on dog rescue efforts.
Participant information
Descriptive information of participants, rescue base province, participant occupational position, primary dog source location, and types of animals rescued by their rescue organization.
Interview questions and planned follow-up questions
Themes, sub-themes, and sub-sub-themes
Themes with relevant sub-themes and corresponding sub-sub-themes.
“It’s my calling”, Canadian dog rescuers’ motives and experiences for engaging in international dog rescue efforts
  • Article
  • Full-text available

May 2024

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51 Reads

Kai Alain von Rentzell

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Christiana Bratiotis

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The importation of rescue dogs has become an increasingly common occurrence in recent years, often involving industrialized countries as the ultimate destination. However, international dog rescue activities have attracted considerable criticism from the veterinary community and the public due to the associated zoonotic disease and public health risks, as well as the potential poor behaviour of international rescue dogs. The Government of Canada has also recently placed a temporary suspension on all commercial dog imports from non-rabies free countries due to the growing concerns of the zoonotic disease risks. To understand the perspectives and experiences of stakeholders involved in dog import activities in Canada, we interviewed nine members in leadership positions of Canadian-based international dog rescue organizations. Thematic analysis of interview dialogue yielded three themes: 1) Motive, which described the reason behind participants’ involvement in international dog rescue; 2) Challenge, which described the major difficulties faced in participants’ dog rescue work; 3) Duty, which described participants’ beliefs on responsible dog rescue practices. Members of international dog rescue organizations described being driven by strong desires to provide animal and humanitarian aid. However, local dog rescue efforts were constrained by logistical and societal barriers unique to the Canadian context. Additionally, the current study revealed both similarities and differences in occupational experiences between international dog rescue organizations and other animal care professions. Specifically, difficulties with the emotional burden associated with caregiving professions was also present within dog rescue work. However, international dog rescue members also experienced additional challenges due to the stigma surrounding international dog rescue operations. Further research on attitudes held by other stakeholders involved in dog import activities, as well as members of Canadian communities needing dog rescue aid may provide meaningful inputs on how to better support and facilitate local and international dog rescue efforts.

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Hoarding Disorder: Development in Conceptualization, Intervention, and Evaluation

October 2021

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78 Reads

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15 Citations

FOCUS The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry

Hoarding disorder is characterized by difficulty parting with possessions because of strong urges to save the items. Difficulty discarding often includes items others consider to be of little value and results in accumulation of a large number of possessions that clutter the home. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure and response prevention and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications traditionally used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder are generally not efficacious for people with hoarding problems. A specialized CBT approach for hoarding has shown progress in reaching treatment goals and has been modified to be delivered in group, peer-facilitated, and virtual models. Research on hoarding remains in the early phases of development. Animal, attachment, and genetic models are expanding. Special populations, such as children, older adults, and people who do not voluntarily seek treatment need special consideration for intervention. Community-based efforts aimed at reducing public health and safety consequences of severe hoarding are needed.


Squalor in Community-Referred Hoarded Homes

August 2018

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264 Reads

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11 Citations

Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders

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Nathanael Lauster

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Christiana Bratiotis

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[...]

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Sheila R. Woody

Domestic squalor is a difficult topic to study; residents of squalid homes are unlikely to volunteer for research due to factors such as stigma or poor insight. Although squalor and hoarding are distinct constructs, extant research suggests squalor occurs more commonly in hoarding than in the general population, but little is known about the circumstances under which squalor develops in hoarded homes. The current study aimed to identify correlates and unique predictors of squalor in the context of hoarded homes based on archival data (N = 381) collected in 2010-2014 from three North American community agencies who help clients with hoarding symptoms and squalor. As part of their routine services, each agency completed in-home assessments to evaluate client characteristics (poor insight, social isolation) and conditions of the home (clutter accumulation, poor access to kitchen or bathroom, number of pets). Across sites, degree of clutter accumulation and poor access to the kitchen or bathroom were consistent unique predictors of squalor presence. This research provides a window into the homes of people who struggle with problematic living conditions and suggests that specific conditions of the home are potential risk factors for squalor in the context of hoarding symptoms.


Examining the Role of Fire Prevention on Hoarding Response Teams: Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services as a Case Study

August 2017

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272 Reads

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17 Citations

Fire Technology

Hoarded homes present a significant threat to the safety of occupants of the home and adjacent homes as well as emergency responders. Extreme accumulation of combustible materials raises the fuel load and prevents egress. Despite having regulatory tools related to fire prevention, fire departments generally lack the necessary background to address the many challenges related to the complex mental health problem of hoarding. Using Vancouver as a case study, this paper highlights the role of Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services in the City’s coordinated hoarding response and outlines their fire code inspections protocol developed for use in hoarding cases. On the basis of fire inspection reports, we compare the processes and outcomes of complaint-driven hoarding inspections with standard annual fire inspections of restaurants. Hoarding cases take longer to resolve and are more challenging, but inspectors achieved satisfactory status in 94% of cases without prosecution. About 20% of hoarding complaints do not involve fire code violations. Although this approach requires an investment and engagement with other community agencies, it represents a useful model for other jurisdictions.


Requests for Help With Hoarding: Who Needs What From Whom?

March 2016

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131 Reads

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10 Citations

Practice Innovations

Hoarding disorder is common among adults and may cause health and safety concerns for those living in and near hoarded homes, necessitating community services and mental health interventions by trained providers. Types of assistance sought by individuals contacting an urban university-based setting well known for research and treatment of hoarding are reported here. The sample included 664 individuals who requested hoarding-relevant information via telephone or e-mail. About one third self-identified as having a hoarding problem, and the remainder were mainly family members and mental health clinicians. A majority of requests were for general information, followed by referrals for some sort of help with hoarding (mainly individual therapy, plus support groups, organizers, cleaning, and coaching). Results are discussed in light of large-scale studies of people who hoard and their family members, as well as requests for a variety of interventions and other service needs.


Hoarding Disorder: Models, Interventions, and Efficacy

April 2015

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142 Reads

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3 Citations

FOCUS The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry

Hoarding disorder was once considered a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder or a symptom of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder but is now recognized as a distinct diagnostic category in DSM-5. Key features of hoarding include difficulty discarding or parting with possessions due to strong urges to save the items. Difficulty discarding often includes items that others consider to be of little use and results in accumulation of a large number of possessions that clutter the home, preventing use for the intended purpose. Cognitive-behavioral therapy with exposure and response prevention as well as administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications traditionally used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder are generally not efficacious for people with hoarding problems. A specialized cognitive-behavioral therapy approach for hoarding has shown some progress in reaching treatment goals and has been modified for delivery in group and peer-facilitated models. Research on hoarding remains in the early phases of development and is progressing. Special populations such as children, older adults, and people who do not voluntarily seek treatment need special consideration for intervention.


Options for people who can't do their part in IPM

December 2010

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11 Reads

Individuals with disabilities need help in participating in IPM. For these individuals, strategies, people, and resources must be employed to assist in early detection of infestations, preparation for service, and prevention of re-infestation. In this presentation, a social worker who works primarily with hoarders across the country will discuss the options available for helping these individuals.


Examining Perceptions of the Impact of Child and Family Services Reviews on Training: Reports from State Training Administrators

October 2009

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24 Reads

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8 Citations

Administration in Social Work

This article, written for state policy makers, child welfare administrators, and training directors, describes findings from a phone survey of 60 state child welfare training administrators; all 50 states and other governmental jurisdictions were included (92% response rate). The survey examined perceptions of the impact of the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) process on the state's training agenda and the impact of training in rectifying problems identified in the CFSR process. Respondents perceived the impact of CFSRs to be positive; however, close to half voiced concern about the potential misuse of training to rectify problems identified in the CFSRs. Future studies should examine the impact of CFSRs on the transfer of training and the effect of the training-related elements of the state's Performance Improvement Plans on agency performance outcomes.


Citations (6)


... Research on managing hoarding in individuals with dementia is limited, with most data focusing on psychiatric patients and the general population (Lin et al. 2022). Interventions include response inhibition training, cognitive-behavioural therapy, compassion-focused therapy, virtual and blended therapies and harm-reduction approaches, though none guarantee success (Bratiotis, Muroff, and Lin 2021;Gledhill et al. 2022;Tinlin and Purvis 2022). Cognitive-behavioural therapy and harm reduction are priority interventions for hoarding (Ahmad and Teo 2022). ...

Reference:

Conquering the ‘Collected Treasures’ of Older Adults With Dementia: A Qualitative Study on Caregiver Strategies and Challenges
Hoarding Disorder: Development in Conceptualization, Intervention, and Evaluation
  • Citing Article
  • October 2021

FOCUS The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry

... minimize symptoms or functional impairment, which predicts rejecting attitudes toward them by family members and healthcare professionals. 26,27 We also demonstrated that community individuals with HD described their clutter as less severe than their family members, [27][28][29] whereas treatment-seeking individuals with HD described their clutter as more severe than their family members. One possible explanation is that individuals with HD whose ultimate objective is treatment for mental health issues or research participation may overemphasize the severity of symptoms. ...

Squalor in Community-Referred Hoarded Homes
  • Citing Article
  • August 2018

Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders

... HD diagnosis was confirmed using the Structured Interview for Hoarding Disorder (n = 2; Millen et al., 2020;Pittman et al., 2021), or by professional inspection of the participant's home residence, which may include measures such as the CIR (n = 3; Kwok et al., 2018;Kysow et al., 2020;Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership, 2015). Only one study specified that their aim was to recruit a sample of older adults (age 60 years; Pittman et al., 2021). ...

Examining the Role of Fire Prevention on Hoarding Response Teams: Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services as a Case Study
  • Citing Article
  • August 2017

Fire Technology

... Te number of PwH seeking treatment or support is low [21] with high dropout rates when it comes to engaging with support interventions [22]. Tis is exacerbated by the stigmatisation of HD as a poorly understood condition [23][24][25] with self-stigma associated with reduced willingness to engage with treatment [26] difculties trusting others without feeling judged [27] with negative impact of helpseeking behaviours [28]. ...

Requests for Help With Hoarding: Who Needs What From Whom?

Practice Innovations

... Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an empirical psychological intervention for HD (Bratiotis et al., 2021;Frost and Hartl, 1996), with modifications including group and peer supported delivery (Bratiotis and Steketee, 2015). A meta-analysis of CBT interventions (n = 12) for HD found that whilst CBT typically leads to reliable change with a large effect size (g = 0.82), it does not produce clinically significant change for the majority (57-76%) of participants (Tolin et al., 2015), although a more recent meta-analysis (Rodgers et al., 2021) found a larger effect size (g = 1.25) than Tolin and colleagues. ...

Hoarding Disorder: Models, Interventions, and Efficacy
  • Citing Article
  • April 2015

FOCUS The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry

... Yet, several researchers have raised concerns that very little, perhaps only 10% to 13% of what is learned in training may actually transfer to practice (Curry, McCarragher, & Dellmann-Jenkins, 2005;Liu & Smith, 2011). Training, they contend, can support but not create good systems and effective practitioners; its transfer to practice hinges on the alignment of organizational practice and training objectives (Amodeo et al., 2009). ...

Examining Perceptions of the Impact of Child and Family Services Reviews on Training: Reports from State Training Administrators
  • Citing Article
  • October 2009

Administration in Social Work