Stopping Overshopping: An Approach to the Treatment of Compulsive-Buying Disorder

Abstract

Compulsive buying is slowly gaining visibility and taking its rightful place alongside such psychological siblings as eating disorders, alcoholism, drug abuse, and other compulsive and addictive behaviors. It has three cardinal features: irresistible impulses to shop, loss of control over those impulses, and the persistence of such behavior in the face of adverse consequences. Only sporadic reports of treatment for this growing problem exist, and these are primarily studies of psychopharmacological treatment, individual psychotherapy, and cognitive-behavioral group therapy. This article describes the Stopping Overshopping Group Treatment program, a comprehensive 12-week experience that draws from psychodynamic psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, motivational interviewing, mindfulness, and acceptance and commitment therapy.

KEYWORDS:

• compulsive buying
• overshopping
• group therapy
• psychotherapy
• shopaholic
• shopping addiction
• compulsive shopping