Mastering Your Adult ADHD

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adulthood is a prevalent and impairing disorder. While medications have been effective in treating adult ADHD, the majority of individuals treated with medications still have symptoms that require additional skills and symptom management strategies.

This Second Edition of Mastering Your Adult ADHD is thoroughly updated to present the most current, empirically supported treatment strategies in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for coping with symptoms of adult ADHD. The Therapist Guide provides clinicians with effective means of teaching adult clients skills that have been scientifically tested and shown to help them cope with ADHD. The program has been updated to include the optional use of technology and smart phones to improve organization and planning. Core modules cover the development of systems for keeping track of appointments and tasks, reducing distractibility, and improving adaptive thinking skills, and there's an optional module on reducing procrastination. Information is also provided regarding holding an informational meeting with a spouse, partner, or family member. The step-by-step, session-by-session descriptions are a practical resource for therapists who deliver the treatment. The companion Client Workbook contains all of the necessary information for participating in the practical CBT intervention. It includes worksheets, forms, and a link to an assessment measure that can be used to gauge progress during treatment.

Steven A. Safren, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at the University of Miami. His grant-funded work related to ADHD includes being the principal investigator of a 5-year NIMH R01 to study the efficacy of CBT for ADHD in adults. Dr. Safren has over 250 publications in the areas of cognitive behavioral therapy, psychopathology, and their application to a variety of clinical problems in adults.

Susan Sprich, Ph.D., is Director of the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School. She also serves as the Director of Postgraduate Psychology Education at the MGH Psychiatry Academy at Massachusetts General Hospital. She served as the project director of a 5-year study of CBT for adult ADHD and as co-PI of a 3-year study of CBT for adolescent ADHD, both funded by NIMH.

Carol A. Perlman, Ph.D., is a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist who specializes in the treatment of mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and adult ADHD. She is a national workshop presenter on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Dr. Perlman is the owner of Perlman Psychology Associates, LLC and maintains a private practice in Medway, MA.

Michael W. Otto, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University. He specializes in the cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) of anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders. Dr. Otto has over 370 publications spanning his research interests, and he was identified as a "top producer" in the clinical empirical literature.

INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION FOR THERAPISTS

MODULE 1 - PSYCHOEDUCATION, ORGANIZING AND PLANNING

Session 1:
PSYCHOEDUCATION AND INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATION AND PLANNING

Session 2:
INFORMATIONAL SESSION WITH SPOUSE, PARTNER OR FAMILY MEMBER (IF APPLICABLE)

Session 3:
ORGANIZATION OF MULTIPLE TASKS

Session 4:
PROBLEM-SOLVING AND MANAGING OVERWHELMING TASKS

Session 5:
ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEMS

MODULE 2: REDUCING DISTRACTIBILITY

Session 6:
GAUGING THE CLIENT'S ATTENTION SPAN AND TEACHING DISTRACTIBLITY DELAY

Session 7:
MODIFYING THE ENVIRONMENT

MODULE 3: ADAPTIVE THINKING

Session 8:
INTRODUCING A COGNITIVE MODEL OF ADHD

Session 9:
ADAPTIVE THINKING

Session 10:
REHEARSAL AND REVIEW OF ADAPTIVE THINKING SKILLS r

MODULE 4: ADDITIONAL SKILLS

Session 11:
APPLICATION OF SKILLS TO PROCRASTINATION (OPTIONAL)

Session 12:
HANDLING SLIPS

Appendix: Forms and Worksheets

References

About the Authors