I frequently work with adult clients who have suspected or confirmed diagnoses of ADHD. Often these clients are looking for ways to manage their symptoms behaviorally in therapy or coaching. While symptom severity and presentation vary widely from case to case, there are some simple strategies that I've found are generally useful for most folks on the ADHD spectrum.
It is important to note that, currently, the number one most effective method of treating ADHD symptoms is a combination of medication, taken as prescribed, and behavioral strategies. I recommend that clients seeking medication for ADHD make an appointment with a prescribing provider who specializes in the diagnosis. My own expertise in this area centers around the behavioral methods for treating ADHD, often in conjunction with medication that has been prescribed to my clients by a different provider.
Simplicity is Key
Firstly, I often urge my clients struggling with ADHD symptoms to simplify their lives to the greatest extent possible. I stress the importance of removing barriers to completing tasks for which clients have low levels of motivation and high levels of avoidance. This often looks like making very small changes over time that can have a big impact on a client's well-being.
For example, a client might struggle with being motivated to take their medication every day as prescribed. We might start by collaboratively discussing barriers or obstacles that make completing this particular task feel impossible and work to develop strategies for improving the likelihood that the client will be able to complete this task more reliably. This may be as simple as evaluating the client's morning routine and finding ways to incorporate taking their medication more seamlessly into this routine. Sometimes we have to go back to the drawing board and modify our existing plan again and again until the client is more reliably able to complete this task with the help of implementing intention and strategy.
2. The Power of Support
This brings me to my next point. Sometimes, simply the act of talking with someone about barriers to completing tasks or task avoidance helps clients keep that task top of mind and they often unconsciously experience less avoidance around that task. In the example of the client who is struggling to take their medication as prescribed, sometimes the act of talking about this particular struggle in-depth with a behavioral professional who specializes in ADHD treatment and having support and accountability along the way can be an intervention in itself that ultimately decreases symptom severity. One might think of behavioral therapy or coaching as a body doubling strategy on a larger, more consistent and structured scale.
Manage Expectations
Finally, I encourage my clients to celebrate their small successes rather than aim for perfection or zero symptom interference in their lives. In treatment we strive for approximations toward a sense of general wellbeing rather than reinforce the problematic fantasy that it is possible to live a life free of struggle or as a person vastly different from the one we are. People who live with ADHD are just as deserving of love and fulfillment in life as any being on this planet. I often observe my clients who live with suspected or confirmed ADHD as being extra hard on themselves because they often perceive themselves as incapable failures. In therapy, we have to do quite a bit of work to re-write this narrative by increasing self-acceptance and self-compassion just as much as we work on strategies for improving symptom interference.
I've found that the more self-acceptance and self-compassion a person with suspected or confirmed ADHD exercises, the less avoidance they tend to engage in and the more effort and intention they feel prepared to put into treatment. To illustrate this point; imagine being a person who is told their whole life directly or indirectly that if they do a particular task, they will be bad at it. Over time, this messaging directly and indirectly increases a person's avoidance of that task. The stories we tell ourselves have a lot of power and by simply being kinder to ourselves, we can take that power back and open up the possibility to see ourselves and what we are capable of differently. A person with ADHD is not incapable of doing things well; they just might need to implement some creativity, intention and strategy into figuring out a way to do things that works for them.
If you have suspected or confirmed ADHD, it may be helpful to consider incorporating behavioral treatment with a professional who specializes in ADHD into your treatment plan. I would suggest beginning by scheduling an initial appointment with such a provider where you can share about your current symptoms and symptom history and ultimately build an individualized treatment plan which targets areas of struggle in your life. If you'd like to reach out and schedule a consultation for ADHD therapy or coaching or ADHD testing to confirm a suspected diagnosis, feel free to email me at drchelseatwisscounseling@gmail.com.
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