Talk Therapy For Adults With ADHD – CBT, DBT & Mindfulness

Description:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT is a type of talk therapy geared toward modifying perceptions; and — indirectly — emotions and behaviors. This by questioning negative beliefs or harsh self-appraisals (which are presumed to be inaccurate). Participants are taught to rethink a given situation. And ask: what are my mental patterns; and how can I alter them?

This effort at reframing is in line with traditional CBT. But in ADHD management, CBT is more specific: what the rest of the mental-health field might call “problem solving.” The focus — as it is with coaching — is immediate. Participants are taught to prioritize. They’re taught to divide a task into smaller pieces. Depending on the program, they may be taught to use a timer, a calendar, a to-do list, or a filing system. The goal is not positive thinking but adaptive thinking. CBT is a step-by-step, collaborative process that can be expected to last maybe 12 sessions (with homework assignments in between).

Dialectical Behavior Therapy. DBT is a descendant of CBT developed to counter unstable emotions, volatile behaviors, and black-and-white thinking. The idea is to encourage — using tough love — a degree of self-stabilization. As the moniker implies, the goal is to achieve a duality: self-acceptance and self-directed change.
DBT began as a treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder; it has since made the rounds. Currently, it does not have a standardized application in ADHD. But its arrival is a matter of time. That’s because a therapy designed for one diagnosis will be adapted for another and then another and so on. And because — if “emotional dysregulation” is accepted as an ADHD core feature — ADHD then becomes a target-rich environment.

Mindfulness training. Mindfulness is the practice of absorbing what’s happening in the moment. And doing so without judging; while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and sensations. This can be learned through meditation; or through a more Westernized protocol. Mindfulness can be practiced on a stand- alone basis; or plugged into CBT or DBT or any other therapeutic regimen.