Types of Therapy for ADHD

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Types of ADHD

Types of Therapy for ADHD

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Medication is typically one of the go-to approachesfor adults and children dealing with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. However, for those who want extra support or don’t want to take medication, ADHD therapies can help manage their condition.

Whether you’re looking for concrete steps to take and skills to learn or more insight-oriented therapy to learn how some of your habits affect your life and relationships, there is a type of therapy for you.

At a Glance

Types of therapy you might consider include cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, ADHD coaching, supportive psychotherapy, and others. The type that is right for you depends on your needs and goals.

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There are three main types of ADHD,though treatment for them all largely looks similar:

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There are many different kinds of therapy for ADHD, though some of the methods may vary between children and adults.Types of therapyused to treat ADHD range from dialectical behavioral therapy to mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

Treatment for adults with ADHD will look a little different than treatment for children with ADHD. Children’s therapy for ADHD may involve teachers, parents, or both.

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Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for ADHD

Cognitive-behavioral therapyis generally considered the gold standard for ADHD psychotherapy. While “regular” CBT can be helpful for ADHD, there are also specific types of CBT for ADHD.

This can help with improving daily life struggles such as procrastinating, time management struggles, and poor planning. CBT helps people find new coping strategies and the emotions and behaviors that interfere with implementing strategies.

The CBT for ADHD model is organized around three core modules and two optional ones:

Optional:

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Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

Research has shown that this type of therapy may be helpful because of how meditation andmindfulnessaffect the brain and neuropsychiatry.

Some benefits may include:

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Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Dialectical behavioral therapyis another form of therapy often used for people with ADHD.This type of therapy is focused on teaching people skills to deal with their ADHD through the following modules:

ADHD Coaching

While it is technically not psychotherapy,ADHD coachingis gaining popularity as a way of managing symptoms and quality of life for people with ADHD.Though there is no standardized protocol, this type ofcoachingusually includes goal-setting and homework, discussing successes and roadblocks, and problem-solving.

Coaches use text messages, emails, or phone call reminders to help clients meet their goals. People are often encouraged to use self-rewards or rewards from the coach or others.

Supportive Psychotherapy

Supportive therapy is a form of therapy that helps clients optimize thecoping skillsthat they already have so that these strategies can be used to reduce distress and manage symptoms such as time management and organization.

This type of therapy is very much patient-driven, symptom-focused, and measurable—such as planning to control anxiety or manage coursework.

Interpersonal Therapy

Interpersonal therapyis typically employed to address issues that may have developed between a client and others due to misunderstandings from their ADHD symptoms, such as if their forgetfulness or procrastination are affecting those in their lives.

One key feature of this type of therapy is that the therapist may use it to help the client see the difference between their inner experience and how their behaviors affect others.

This type of therapy may also address personal issues, such as asense of failureorlow self esteem, that often stem from the challenges people with ADHD traits experiences trying to fit in to society’s neurotypical expectations.

Group Therapy

Group therapycan be a helpful way for people with ADHD to learn from other people dealing with similar types of challenges and how they have dealt with or have overcome them.

A specific type of group therapy for ADHD-I (Inattentive Type) called CBT for ADHD-I teaches group members planning, how to start activities and end activities, lifestyle changes, and how to troubleshoot where they have issues in these areas.

It combines applying the techniques in the in-person sessions and homework outside of the groups.Mindfulness meditationis also practiced to help group members reduce stress and improve attention regulation.

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Narrative Therapy

Narrative therapyhas been found to be helpful in people with ADHD to help reduce the self-stigma they may experience. Many people with ADHD tell themselves that they are lazy and underachieving, leading them to wonder what the purpose of trying is and thus becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Narrative therapy can help people with ADHD externalize their issues, so the lack of attention becomes the problem, rather than “I am the problem.”

This type of therapy can also help people identify the “sparkling moments” when things are different from the stories they tell themselves so that they can see their strengths rather than their challenges.

One study of school-aged girls who participated in narrative group therapy found improvement in their school performance following the therapy because they identified and replaced negative self-beliefs.Narrative therapy also increased their ability to see that they could find their own solutions to problems (as age-appropriate).

ADHD Therapy for Children

In parent-delivered behavioral therapies, parents will be taught:

In teacher-delivered behavioral therapies, teachers learn similar strategies: how to teach children with ADHD to address their challenges, how to help them withtime managementand organization, and how to help them overcome emotional and behavioral challenges.

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Takeaway

Therapy for ADHD may be particularly challenging because it requires the consistency and structure that many people with ADHD struggle with.But the right therapistwill create a space where you can feel safe in managing your symptoms and learn how to live with ADHD.

How to Choose the Best Type of Therapy For You

11 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (Adhd) in children.Sprich SE, Knouse LE, Cooper-Vince C, Burbridge J, Safren SA.Description and demonstration of cbt for adhd in adults.Cogn Behav Pract. 2012;17(1):10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.09.002. doi:10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.09.002Bachmann K, Lam AP, Philipsen A.Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and the adult adhd brain: a neuropsychotherapeutic perspective.Front Psychiatry.2016;7:117. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00117Narimani M, Bagiyan-Kulemarez MJ, Ahadi B, Abolghasemi A.The Study of Effectiveness of Group Training of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) on Reducing of Symptoms of Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Promoting Quality of Life of Students.Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2014;(6(1)):39-51. doi: 10.22075/jcp.2017.2153Cole P, Weibel S, Nicastro R, et al.CBT/DBT skills training for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Psychiatr Danub. 2016;28(Suppl-1):103-107.Prevatt F, Yelland S.An empirical evaluation of adhd coaching in college students.J Atten Disord. 2015;19(8):666-677. doi:10.1177/1087054713480036Gentile JP, Atiq R.Psychotherapy for the patient with adult adhd.Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2006;3(8):31-35.Strålin EE, Thorell LB, Szybek K, Lundgren T, Bölte S, Bohman B.Cognitive-behavioral group therapy for ADHD predominantly inattentive presentation: A feasibility study of a new treatment protocol.Nordic Psychology. Published online January 2, 2022:1-15. doi:10.1080/19012276.2021.2020683Baldwin J.Narrative Therapy to Reduce Self-Stigma: Empowering Children to Reduce Self-Stigma: Empowering Children, Adolescents, and Their Families.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Parent training in Behavior Management for ADHD.CHADD.Teacher to Teacher - Helping teachers meet the needs of students with ADHD.

11 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (Adhd) in children.Sprich SE, Knouse LE, Cooper-Vince C, Burbridge J, Safren SA.Description and demonstration of cbt for adhd in adults.Cogn Behav Pract. 2012;17(1):10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.09.002. doi:10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.09.002Bachmann K, Lam AP, Philipsen A.Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and the adult adhd brain: a neuropsychotherapeutic perspective.Front Psychiatry.2016;7:117. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00117Narimani M, Bagiyan-Kulemarez MJ, Ahadi B, Abolghasemi A.The Study of Effectiveness of Group Training of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) on Reducing of Symptoms of Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Promoting Quality of Life of Students.Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2014;(6(1)):39-51. doi: 10.22075/jcp.2017.2153Cole P, Weibel S, Nicastro R, et al.CBT/DBT skills training for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Psychiatr Danub. 2016;28(Suppl-1):103-107.Prevatt F, Yelland S.An empirical evaluation of adhd coaching in college students.J Atten Disord. 2015;19(8):666-677. doi:10.1177/1087054713480036Gentile JP, Atiq R.Psychotherapy for the patient with adult adhd.Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2006;3(8):31-35.Strålin EE, Thorell LB, Szybek K, Lundgren T, Bölte S, Bohman B.Cognitive-behavioral group therapy for ADHD predominantly inattentive presentation: A feasibility study of a new treatment protocol.Nordic Psychology. Published online January 2, 2022:1-15. doi:10.1080/19012276.2021.2020683Baldwin J.Narrative Therapy to Reduce Self-Stigma: Empowering Children to Reduce Self-Stigma: Empowering Children, Adolescents, and Their Families.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Parent training in Behavior Management for ADHD.CHADD.Teacher to Teacher - Helping teachers meet the needs of students with ADHD.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Johns Hopkins Medicine.Attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (Adhd) in children.Sprich SE, Knouse LE, Cooper-Vince C, Burbridge J, Safren SA.Description and demonstration of cbt for adhd in adults.Cogn Behav Pract. 2012;17(1):10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.09.002. doi:10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.09.002Bachmann K, Lam AP, Philipsen A.Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and the adult adhd brain: a neuropsychotherapeutic perspective.Front Psychiatry.2016;7:117. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00117Narimani M, Bagiyan-Kulemarez MJ, Ahadi B, Abolghasemi A.The Study of Effectiveness of Group Training of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) on Reducing of Symptoms of Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Promoting Quality of Life of Students.Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2014;(6(1)):39-51. doi: 10.22075/jcp.2017.2153Cole P, Weibel S, Nicastro R, et al.CBT/DBT skills training for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Psychiatr Danub. 2016;28(Suppl-1):103-107.Prevatt F, Yelland S.An empirical evaluation of adhd coaching in college students.J Atten Disord. 2015;19(8):666-677. doi:10.1177/1087054713480036Gentile JP, Atiq R.Psychotherapy for the patient with adult adhd.Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2006;3(8):31-35.Strålin EE, Thorell LB, Szybek K, Lundgren T, Bölte S, Bohman B.Cognitive-behavioral group therapy for ADHD predominantly inattentive presentation: A feasibility study of a new treatment protocol.Nordic Psychology. Published online January 2, 2022:1-15. doi:10.1080/19012276.2021.2020683Baldwin J.Narrative Therapy to Reduce Self-Stigma: Empowering Children to Reduce Self-Stigma: Empowering Children, Adolescents, and Their Families.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Parent training in Behavior Management for ADHD.CHADD.Teacher to Teacher - Helping teachers meet the needs of students with ADHD.

Johns Hopkins Medicine.Attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (Adhd) in children.

Sprich SE, Knouse LE, Cooper-Vince C, Burbridge J, Safren SA.Description and demonstration of cbt for adhd in adults.Cogn Behav Pract. 2012;17(1):10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.09.002. doi:10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.09.002

Bachmann K, Lam AP, Philipsen A.Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and the adult adhd brain: a neuropsychotherapeutic perspective.Front Psychiatry.2016;7:117. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00117

Narimani M, Bagiyan-Kulemarez MJ, Ahadi B, Abolghasemi A.The Study of Effectiveness of Group Training of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) on Reducing of Symptoms of Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Promoting Quality of Life of Students.Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2014;(6(1)):39-51. doi: 10.22075/jcp.2017.2153

Cole P, Weibel S, Nicastro R, et al.CBT/DBT skills training for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Psychiatr Danub. 2016;28(Suppl-1):103-107.

Prevatt F, Yelland S.An empirical evaluation of adhd coaching in college students.J Atten Disord. 2015;19(8):666-677. doi:10.1177/1087054713480036

Gentile JP, Atiq R.Psychotherapy for the patient with adult adhd.Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2006;3(8):31-35.

Strålin EE, Thorell LB, Szybek K, Lundgren T, Bölte S, Bohman B.Cognitive-behavioral group therapy for ADHD predominantly inattentive presentation: A feasibility study of a new treatment protocol.Nordic Psychology. Published online January 2, 2022:1-15. doi:10.1080/19012276.2021.2020683

Baldwin J.Narrative Therapy to Reduce Self-Stigma: Empowering Children to Reduce Self-Stigma: Empowering Children, Adolescents, and Their Families.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Parent training in Behavior Management for ADHD.

CHADD.Teacher to Teacher - Helping teachers meet the needs of students with ADHD.

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