What Happens In Behavioural Therapy for ADHD?

Adult ADHD can be difficult to cope with. Even with the appropriate medication - the first line of treatment, adults with ADHD might still struggle with lack of motivation, time management, overwhelming emotions and disorganisation. 

While medication aims to reduce the symptoms of ADHD (inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity), therapy focuses on equipping you with tools and strategies needed to better navigate the many demands of day to day life. 

Behavioural therapy for ADHD is an effective, evidence-based type of therapy for ADHD. As the name suggests, behavioural therapy places emphasis on skills that directly affect our behaviour. For example, skills to improve our ability to get to places on time, complete tasks by a deadline, or to maintain and manage relationships.  

Okay, but how will therapy be different from ‘self-help’ strategies?

That’s a good question. 

Very often with ADHD, you KNOW exactly what needs to be done, but might find it difficult to implement and execute your plans. This is where therapy can be helpful. Human beings are unique and a one-size fits all approach is rarely helpful when it comes to mental health. A therapist will work with you to create coping strategies that are tailored to meet you where you’re at. 

Let’s take a closer look at what exactly happens in behavioural therapy for ADHD. Behavioural therapy typically has the following three stages:

1. Psychoeducation

2. Working towards therapy goals

3. Reviewing and maintaining progress

Psychoeducation 

Psychoeducation is the process of learning about your symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment plan. You might often blame yourself or think that you are just being lazy. Psychoeducation can help bust some of these myths.

During psychoeducation, your therapist will help you understand what ADHD is, the cause, and what you can expect moving forward. They will also work with you to create goals for therapy and a plan to work towards them in subsequent sessions.

Psychoeducation is an essential part of behavioural therapy for ADHD. It ensures that you have all the information you need about your diagnosis. Studies have also shown that psychoeducation can help improve acceptance of the diagnosis and increase motivation for treatment.

Working Towards Goals

Once you understand your diagnosis and have decided what your goals from therapy are, it’s time to start working towards them. Think of this as the heavy lifting of therapy. 

Behavioural therapy for ADHD focuses on skills to tackle the core difficulties associated with ADHD - disorganization, time management, distractibility, and procrastination. 

You will work with your therapist to create an organisation system that works uniquely for you. They can also help you learn how to prioritise your ‘to-do’ list such that you are able to first focus on the most important tasks. 

Problem solving skills are another technique that you will learn in behavioural therapy. Such skills are useful because people living with ADHD often tend to procrastinate a task when met with an obstacle.

People living with ADHD are also easily distracted. This can be because your attention span differs from that of someone without ADHD. In order to manage distractions, you will work with your therapist to identify triggers, understand your unique attention span, and develop techniques to use these attributes to help you get back to the task at hand.

Reviewing Progress

Once you have mastered the techniques associated with your therapy goals, you and your therapist will go over how far you’ve achieved these goals and with how much consistency. This will include summarising skills, going over your wins, and learning from setbacks. Your therapist might ask you to reflect on which skills worked well for you and which didn’t. 

At this stage, you might also begin to work on secondary goals i.e. any other concerns that are on your mind or discuss terminating therapy.

Conclusion

Behavioural therapy for ADHD can help you enhance your quality of life. Therapy for ADHD focuses on arming you with appropriate information about ADHD. It also equips you with the tools needed to overcome daily challenges. With the right combination of therapy and medication, you can learn to manage your symptoms and live a happy, fulfilling life.

Check out our website if you're seeking ADHD support.